Where The Hell Is Magic Lake?
by QuirkQuirk
Summary: Who would have thought so much could go wrong on what started out as a simple camping trip? Includes rainbow rafts, marshmallow sucking, skinnydipping, boybands, and skidoos… also known as jet skis. AkuRoku AU COMPLETE
1. It's Party Time!

**Author's Notes:** This story is semi co-written with Kenpachi (the author, not the character, obviously, who is my friend, muse, and co-conspirator) and the plot was inspired by an insanely amazing camping trip we went on with some friends. AkuRoku developed into an ongoing theme of the trip, and as a result we spent an entire day or so coming up with the idea for this fic as we ran around in the woods. So the whole thing is plotted out, it's just a matter of getting it all typed up and beta'd and all that.

**The disclaimer! **Obviously I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or any of it's affiliated characters. If I did, this would not be a FANfiction, you see? (And if I did own it, you'd know. There'd be a lot less fighting Heartless happening, and a lot more kinky boy on boy action.) I also do not own any of the songs referenced in later chapters, or Pikachu, and I did not make up the "Ten Fingers' game or "I Spy". In fact, I essentially own NOTHING contained in this story except for the plot. So please don't sue me.

**Pairing(s): **AkuRoku main, Sora/Riku side (there's barely any development for it, it's just kinda hinted at.)

**Summary:** Who would have thought so much could go wrong on what started out as a simple camping trip?! Includes rainbow rafts, marshmallow sucking, skinnydipping, boybands, and skidoos… also known as jet skis. AkuRoku AU Semi Crack-Fic.

**Warnings:** A whole lot of insanity, scattered profanity, lame music, and lots and lots of slashy goodness. So if that is not your thing…well… you have been warned. Flames will be used to torch marshmallows.

**Other Stuff: **Read and enjoy! Reviewers get ((insert an exciting, camping-related thing that you might promise to someone as an incentive to do something here XD))!

ON WITH THE STORY! 8D

**.o.O.o.**

Suggested food: Birthday cake

Suggested beverage: Soda pop

Suggested listening: "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" – Aaron Carter

**.o.O.o**.

_**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?!**_

**Chapter 01: It's Party Time!**

-o-

Roxas plopped out a scoop of blueish ice cream onto a cone, handing it to the mother of a screaming child.

"Here you are, ma'am," he drawled in a bored voice, face conveying absolutely no enjoyment at delivering the icy treat, "That'll be $2.75." Roxas took the money as the woman dolled it out, watching as her child smeared the melting ice cream all over its face before promptly dropping the cone and letting out an earsplitting wail. Honestly, he didn't get paid enough to do this.

The little bell above the door of the shop let out a cheery ring, alerting Roxas to the arrival of another customer in search of ice cream on this hot, summer day. _Please don't let it be anyone accompanied by a small, shrieking kid _Roxas prayed, hardly daring to look up.

"Hi Roxas!"

The blonde glanced up only to be greeted by an energetic brunette, the kid looking as if he was harbouring some barely contained, very explosive bomb that was about to go off right there in the ice cream store with all of the pent-up energy he had in him. Roxas almost wasn't sure if he would mind that happening at the rate his day was going. "Hey Sora."

Sora bounded right up to Roxas, bouncing in place on the balls of his feet and leaning forward so that his arms were resting on the counter. His grin was nearly blinding, and personally Roxas found it to be a little disconcerting. Actually, a _lot_ disconcerting. In fact, judging by the fact that Sora wasn't even paying any attention to the ice cream display and instead just grinning freakishly at him, Roxas was quickly moving past 'disconcerted' and heading straight into 'flat-out disturbed'. Sora seemed to be waiting for the other boy to do something, though, so Roxas decided to initiate interaction.

"…What do you want?"

"Sooooo… Roxas. What are you doing for the next week or two?" Sora countered. Now in Roxas's experience, when someone answered a question with a question of their own they were either trying to avoid answering directly because they knew you weren't going to like what they had to say, or they were trying to hide something. Or possibly both. Roxas wasn't in the mood to find out which one it was, so he decided to simply end the conversation.

"Working."

A pout graced Sora's bottom lip at this answer, followed a second later by an expression of utmost hope and determination.

"But you can take off work, right?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"But… I mean… you've gotta have _some _sort of a break coming up here pretty soon, right? I mean… it's summer vacation!"

"Well I don't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"So… there's _no_ way you could get off work for say… the next week and a half?"

"No." Maybe if he just kept giving direct, one-word responses Sora would go away.

"Positive?"

Or maybe he wouldn't.

"Sora, seriously, what do you want?" Roxas was getting a little tired of this game of word-tag that they seemed to have going on.

"Oh… you know." Sora began with a fake casual sigh, pretending like he didn't _really_ have anything in mind and was just making it up as he went along. Roxas glared at him. That sneaky little liar. "I was just thiiiiinking… My birthday's coming up pretty soon here, and I was kiiiiinda wanting to go on a trip with some friends. And you know, since you and I are such good friends and all…" Sora trailed off, seeming to be implying that since he and Roxas were _'such good friends'_ that it meant the blonde was obligated to be dragged along with whatever Sora was wanting to plan. Pffft, that little liar. Sure, he and Sora were childhood friends and had grown up together and all, but it wasn't like they were _that_ close anymore. Certainly not close enough for Roxas to just agree to whatever Sora was wanting for the sake of their friendship or whatever.

But then again, Roxas had not been counting on the puppy-dog-face. Caught off guard, Roxas was hit with it full force as Sora resorted to switching from the annoying, nagging approach to the "Oh-I'm-just-so-cute-you-just-KNOW-you-want-to-say-yes" approach. Darn him.

"Sora, seriously, would you just tell me exactly what you have planned that you are wanting to drag me along on?" Roxas wasn't ready to give in _quite_ yet, but he wasn't sure how long he could hold up against the puppy face. He was only so strong.

"Weeeeell…" Sora began, drawing out the word, most likely to make Roxas interested or something. It didn't really work. "You know, nothing big… Just kinda a trip with some friends."

Dear God, why was Sora being so vague? Roxas was starting to get extremely irritated, and that was never a good thing. Whenever Roxas got irritated he had the unfortunate habit of making rash decisions to just make it all go away, that usually ended making things even more complicated and irritating than they were to begin with. And so help him, if Sora kept up his vague nagging for ONE MORE MINUTE –

"So, _please_ Roxas, would you come? I promise it'll be a lot of fun and –"

"FINE!" Roxas snapped, rather loudly, and a few customers looked up from their ice cream to stare at him. "I'll go to your birthday thing, whatever it is."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Sora shouted joyfully, not caring that most of the people in the room were staring at them by now as he threw his upper body over the counter to grab Roxas into a huge hug. Roxas quickly discovered that it was really quite uncomfortable having your stomach crushed up against a counter while your lungs were being constricted by your friend's death-hug, not to mention having a spike of said friend's hair poking your face. "Thank you, thank you, _THANK YOU_!" Sora chanted, pulling back. "Here's a list of when it is and what you need to bring and everything, okay? I'm so glad you're coming!" A crumpled piece of paper was pulled out of Sora's pocket and shoved into Roxas's hand. Roxas cringed. He didn't like crumpled things. Sora flashed Roxas another blinding grin before turning to leave. "I'll see you later, okay? Bye!"

And with that, Sora happily skipped out of the ice cream store, singing some annoying song as he went. Roxas felt his eye twitch. Glancing down at the piece of paper in his hand he un-crumpled it, reading it over.

_"You're invited to Sora's birthday adventure! YAAAAAAY! Come by my house this Saturday at 5:00p.m. for a game and movie night before we leave the next morning – that's when the REAL party begins!_

_Things you need to bring!!!  
· sleeping bag and extra blankets  
· bathing suit  
· beach towel  
· sun block  
· water shoes  
· pillow(s)  
· warm sleeping gear  
· extra clothes  
· tennis shoes  
· stuffed animals MANDITORY!!! (just kidding!!)_

_I can't wait to see you there! Bye!_

_Love, Sora"_

Roxas frowned at Sora's scribbled, childlike writing on the paper. What on earth had he just let himself get dragged into? Shoving it back into his pants pocket, Roxas went back into 'professional, kid-with-a-job' mode as a customer made their way to the counter, having judged Sora's departure as a sign that it was once again safe to approach. With a sigh, Roxas took the order, not even paying much attention to what he was doing. Not that he normally did anyways, but now he did so even less, wondering what on earth Sora had planned, and if he should be prepared to fake his own death or at least a major injury if necessary in order to get out of it once he found out what it was.

**.x.X.x.**

A few days later Roxas found himself making his way towards Sora's house, still wondering if he had time to back out of the whole thing. He was pretty sure whatever it was the boy had planned, it wouldn't be anything Roxas himself liked to do. Obviously since they were going to be gone for more than a week they were going on some kind of a long-distance trip, but Roxas was lost as to where they could be going. He didn't go on many trips, especially not the kind he imagined Sora putting together.

Knocking on the door, Roxas shifted his bag of stuff he was told to bring, along with the boxed present in his arms. He hadn't really known what to get Sora, but eventually settled on a stuffed animal and a gift certificate for the ice cream store he worked at. Sora seemed to enjoy cute things and food, so it had seemed an appropriate gift.

"ROXAS! You're here!!"

The door was flung open, and Roxas was immediately jumped upon by Sora, who wrestled the present out of his grip while ushering him inside. Looking around, Roxas could see that a giant "Happy Birthday, Sora!" banner had been hung up in the living room, along with massive amounts of streamers and balloons. Some of Sora's insanely lame music was playing in the background and Roxas already felt a headache coming on. Inwardly he wondered if Sora knew how old was actually turning, because the party decorations wouldn't have seemed out of place for a five year old. At least there was no clown. Thank God.

"Everyone's in the living room!" Sora happily (and rather pointlessly, seeing as Roxas had a full view of the mentioned room) informed Roxas as they made their way into the designated party area. 'Everyone' seemed to include some of Roxas's friends, and for that the blonde was glad. He immediately detached himself from Sora with a vague 'happy birthday', heading over to the far end of the room.

"Hey guys." He greeted, nodding to his three friends. Olette smiled and said hello back, Pence waved happily, not saying anything through a mouthful of cupcake, and Hayner instantly pounced, grabbing Roxas and pulling him into a headlock. Roxas idly wondered why his blonde friend always had to be so assertively and dominatingly physical.

"Yo, Rox!" Hayner greeted as he ruffed Roxas's hair. "So you finally decided to show. You must be like… the last person here! Sora's been all antsy waiting for everyone to get here so he can announce the big secret surprise he's planning or whatever."

The word 'secret' triggered something in Roxas's brain, and he suddenly realized that maybe he should have been more worried about what Sora was planning to spring on them than he had been. Knowing Sora, it could be anything. Roxas suddenly became uncomfortably aware of how stupid he had been in agreeing to come without making Sora tell him what it was first.

"So… none of you guys know what exactly it is that Sora has planned?" Roxas hesitantly asked, not quite sure if he was more worried that none of them knew (because then it could still be ANYTHING), or if one of them did know and he was about to find out Sora had tricked him into some sort of rabid coatimundi wrestling adventure. Or something equally ridiculous, unenjoyable, and possibly life-threatening.

"No." Olette replied. "Sora hasn't told anyone yet, but he sure seems excited."

"Yeah, it's too bad none of us can go." Pence put in, having finished his cupcake. "Sora was really bummed when we told him. But hey, at least you'll be there to hang out with him, right?"

Roxas suddenly found himself in a complete panic. "Wait, what do you mean none of you can go?! I am so not getting dragged off into some unknown 'Sora adventure' alone!"

"Oh come on, it's his birthday!" Pence insisted, always one to be nice, and Roxas fought back the urge to point out that if they were all supposed to be so 'nice', Pence could be the one sacrificing himself to Sora's insane ideas of a 'fun' trip. "I'd go, but I've already had plans to visit my grandparents for over a month."

"I couldn't get off work." Olette explained with a shrug. Roxas glared at her. _He_ had had to gripe to his boss for about an hour, making up lame excuses about how he was a kid and therefore needed to run free with his own kind during this sacred time of year reserved for frolicking about in the sun with friends. Not that he would ever actually do that, he'd just needed a sappy enough excuse to get his boss to give him a week off.

"Yeah, and Hayner has summer school – " Pence added as the final explanation.

"Fuck that!" Hayner put in, voicing his opinion on the matter.

" – so as much as he may _want_ to go, he can't afford to."

"Well… what about everyone else?" Roxas asked, looking around the room. So help him, he was NOT going somewhere alone with Sora.

"Well, Namine is a little sick, so I think she just came here tonight to give Sora his present. And I don't think Kairi is going…" Olette told him, before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Apparently she has some bad experiences with a previous birthday trip. She didn't really want to talk about it."

"Yeah, and Tidus and Wakka are off at some sports camp, the bastards." Hayner mumbled in a dark, envious tone.

"I think Selphie had some sort of kids camp to volunteer at…" Pence put in thoughtfully.

"Well who _is_ going?" Roxas asked, on the verge of panic.

"HEY EVERYONE!" Sora suddenly shouted out, cutting off any possible response Roxas's friends were going to supply him with. "Come over here! It's time for me to tell you about my amazing, super fun trip!"

Everyone kind of made their way over to Sora, who was standing on a couch, looking important. A semi-circle was formed around him, everyone waiting for him to just spill already.

"So." Sora began, puffing out his scrawny little boyish chest. "As you all know, I've invited you all to my birthday this year and told you we're going on a super fun trip! And I know a lot of you can't come, but I just thought I'd make the announcement now, anyways. So this is the moment you've all been waiting for… For my birthday… we're… going on a camping trip! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! Tomorrow morning we're leaving bright and early for the Hundred Acre Wood National Forest camping area!"

The response from the gathered crown was probably not the one Sora was going for. A few people looked at eachother, not really knowing what to say. Pence turned to Roxas, nudging him conspiratorially. "Um… isn't that place for like… Kids and stuff? It's not _real_ camping… they've got like… marked sites and playgrounds and showers and electricity outlets and stuff."

Roxas suddenly felt very relieved. He really didn't like camping at all, but at least it sounded like he'd be able to survive the kind that Sora had in mind, however lame the name was. Pffft. 'Hundred Acre Wood'. Roxas resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was gonna be a cakewalk.

Sora must have overheard Pence, however, because a moment later he was further clarifying the details of the trip. "But that's not even the best part! We're only staying there for a little while, because our _real_ destination iiiis… MAGIC LAKE!"

_Oh yeah._ Roxas thought. _Cause that name makes me feel sooo much better._

Silence reined once again at Sora's announcement. No one really knew what to say. What _was_ there to say? 'Wow, Sora, you sure do pick places with lame names'? Hayner was the first to find words and speak up.

"Dude, I'm not even going, but… where the hell is 'Magic Lake'?"

Sora suddenly looked very, very sad. Roxas felt like a terrible person, and he hadn't even been the one to make the comment. Obviously Sora loved the stupid, embarrassingly lamely named lake, and was personally hurt that someone had said something rather mean about it. A sad Sora was a sight that made even the most pure of conscience feel like offing themselves for being such terrible, horrible people for living in a world that included Sora's sad face and for possibly having contributed to it's appearance. Tension filled the room as people shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to amend the situation.

"I think it sounds great." Riku said from his spot where he was sitting on the couch.

"It's only the best place ever!" Sora passionately replied, punching his fist in the air, enthusiasm back full force. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a little lake out in the middle of the woods way far away from civilization! I mean, there's no one around for miles and miles! No people, no houses, no electricity, no bathrooms or showers, no –"

As Sora continued his description of the place, Roxas marveled at Sora's idea of 'the best place ever'. Personally, it sounded like his idea of a punishment – somewhere you might be sent if your parents wanted to disown you, or you had been accused of murder or something.

"…and so we're gonna have to bring all our own stuff, of course." Sora was continuing. "I've got some pup tents and food and stuff all ready to go in the van we rented. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning!"

Suddenly another terror-inducing thought materialized in Roxas's brain. They had rented a van. Parents weren't going to be driving. Dear God… did Sora think he was going to be driving them out into the wilderness on winding dirt roads up towering mountains, careening out of control in his desperation to get to random places with lame names? Was Sora even _allowed _to drive?! Roxas was pretty sure he was going to pass out, but he took a deep breath and collected himself.

"Um… Sora? Who's going to be driving?" He just couldn't help it. He _had_ to know. It was a matter of life and death.

"Riku, of course!" Sora answered brightly, hopping down and plopping onto the lap of the silver haired teen. Riku petted him.

_Thank you, any and all higher powers that may be._ Roxas silently prayed, thanking the gods for Riku.

"So! Now that we're all clear on that, let's play a game, huh?" Roxas looked at Sora like he was crazy….er than usual. Everyone else, however, seemed to think this was a fun idea. "Okay, so I was thinking we'd start with a round of –"

_Ding Dong_

"I'LL GET IT!!!" Sora yelled, jumping up and joyfully running to the door as if it was some sort of a race and everyone else was just _dying_ to beat him to the door. In reality, no one else even moved to get up. Idle conversation broke out with Sora's absence and Roxas was just delving into how physically (and most likely emotionally …possibly even _psychologically_) scarred he was going to be by the end of this trip when Sora's voice called out to him from the entryway. "Hey Roxas, come here a minute!"

Roxas got up, making his way to the door, hardly concerned for what may await him there. It couldn't possibly be any worse for what Sora had in store for him starting the following morning.

When he got to the door the first thing Roxas noticed was that Sora wasn't alone. He had been joined by a tall, lanky male with impossibly spiky red hair and a large duffle bag. Apparently this new arrival was going to be joining them on their camping adventure. Oh joy.

"Roxas, this is Axel. He goes to our school and he's gonna be coming camping with us – isn't that fun!" Roxas, for his part, wasn't sure if 'fun' was exactly the right word to be using, seeing as he was going to be dragged out into the wilderness with a crazy Sora, a quiet (although thankfully sane) Riku, and now some random kid he didn't even know who, frankly, looked a little bizarre. The kid had tattoos on his _face _for crying out lout! Who _does_ that?! Roxas took a moment to marvel at Sora's impossibly wide range of friends.

Suddenly a snicker caught his ear, and Roxas looked back to the redhead, furrowing his brow. What did this guy think was so amusing? "What?"

"Nothing."

_Oh no you don't! _Roxas thought_ When people say "nothing" it always means "something"!_

"No, seriously. What?"

"Nothing." Axel insisted once again. "It's just that…" The redhead found himself unable to continue due to a snicker-fit.

"It's just _what_?" Roxas asked, starting to get seriously irritated.

"Well…" Axel smirked, leaning down to look right into Roxas's face. Roxas's irritation gave way to discomfort with the nearly nose-to-nose contact. "It's just that… your name is… Roxas."

"…" Roxas didn't quite know how to respond to this. "Um… so?"

Axel grinned freakily, still waaaaay to close for Roxas's comfort. Suddenly he gave a sort of freaky puppy growl and for a split second Roxas was equally torn between completely confused and totally freaked out, before both disappeared to be replaced with livid indignation. The freak was saying his _name!_ "RrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrOXAS!"

"Hey, shut up!" Roxas snapped, frowning. "There's nothing wrong with my name, _Axel._ What, are you named after a car part or something?" Axel just continued to grin, seeming to be secure in the belief that Roxas's name was _much_ more ridiculous than his. "God, whatever you freak." Roxas's mind was made up – he already hated this kid.

"Well! Uh… let's head back to the living room, shall we?" Sora cut in, in a moment of rare insight and perception. Grumbling, Roxas followed after him, trying to ignore Axel's continued snickering and mutterings of "Rrrrrrrrroxas".

Once back in the living room, it seemed as though Axel vaguely knew Riku and Namine, but no one else. Roxas wondered why Sora even invited him. That jerk. There was _no_ way Roxas was going to be anywhere _near_ him for the rest of this trip. Not even within ten feet of him. No – _twenty_ feet. Starting _now._

"SO!" Sora announced, holding up a game box. "Who's up for a game of TWISTER?"

Roxas groaned, burying his face in his hands. It was going to be a looong trip.

**.o.O.o.**

So there you go, you wonderful people, you! Chapter one of many more to come! I'm a little weird about this chapter, just because of the setting and interaction or something, but after this it really picks up! I hope everyone liked it so far! I'm really excited to get this story going!


	2. Burrito!

**o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: Burrito

Suggested beverage: um… water?

Suggested listening: annoying boybands and Disney Remix Mania. XD

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 02: Burrito!**

-o-

"It's TODAY!

Roxas groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Sora was running around the room in circles shouting "it's today!" (whatever _that_ was supposed to mean) rather loudly and waking everyone up.

"It's today, it's today, it's todaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" The brunette sang as he skipped over to Riku, prodding the still sleeping teen. How Riku could sleep through Sora's obnoxious shouting Roxas would never know. Maybe it was the fact that they spent so much time together. Maybe Riku had just been so desensitized to it that he could now sleep through even Sora's loudest outbursts. Roxas was slightly envious.

Sitting up and looking around, Roxas surveyed the room. Everyone was scattered about, having fallen asleep wherever it was that they collapsed after multiple rounds of speed Twister. Sora was the first to loose every round due to his squirming and fidgeting, and was therefore always in charge of spinning the little wheel. Apparently Sora didn't believe in stopping between spins to give everyone a chance to properly find their spots on the mat, creating mass chaos and many a tangled mass of limbs.

As the brunette bounded around the room, everyone else started waking up – not that they had much of a choice in the matter. It was at about that time that Roxas decided to stand up, only to realize his legs were trapped under something. _What the…?!_

"GAAAH! AXEL! Get off me, you freak!"

With some vigorous kicking and thrashing, Roxas managed to both throw Axel's body off his legs (wondering just how long the redhead had been sleeping over them) and give the other male a very rude awakening at the same time.

"Ow, hey, watch it." Axel said, scooting away from Roxas to avoid further bodily harm. "Geeze."

Roxas mumbled something about "_you_ watch it" as he stood up, running his hands through his unruly hair, which was rather flattened on one side from where he had slept on it weird. Actually, his back was rather sore too, most likely from sleeping on Sora's floor. What a rotten start to the day.

Rubbing at a kink in his neck, Roxas made his way to the bathroom, intending on taking a nice, long, _warm_ shower, hopefully getting rid of any Axel germs that accumulated on him during the night. Urgh. Axel germs. However he was stopped halfway there by a disgustingly happy Sora. Honestly, Roxas was pretty sure it wasn't even legal for anyone to be that much of a morning person.

"Good morning Roxas!"

"'Morning."

"Where are you going?"

Dude, why did Sora care? "To the bathroom?"

"Oh no you don't!" Sora gleefully announced, grabbing Roxas by the arm and dragging him off. "We're leaving right away and you always take a million years in the shower!"

"I do not." Roxas grumbled. He only took _half_ a million years at the most. How rude.

By now everyone else was awake, sitting up and certainly not looking their best. _But at least they all get to go home and take nice, warm, long showers, whereas I'm going to be shoved in a car for hours and hours and driven off into the wilderness for a week and a half._ Roxas thought bitterly.

"Come on, guys!" Sora loudly prompted. "Everyone up! Let's go, go, go! Move, move, move! It's time to go caaaaamping!" At this point Sora actually leapt on Riku in an attempt to wake him. The silver haired teen groaned and rolled over, opening his eyes to find Sora's grinning face about an inch away from his own. "Morning!"

"Sora, what time is it?"

"Five o'clock, bright and early!"

Roxas was surprised Riku didn't kill Sora on the spot.

**.x.O.x.**

"EVERYBOOOOOOODY! YEEEEEAAAAAH! ROCK YOUR BOOOOOODY! YEEEEEEAAAAH! EVERYBOOOOOOOOOODY! ROCK YOUR BODY RIGHT! BACKSTREET'S BACK – ALRIGHT!"

"Make it stop…" Roxas groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Please, God, make it stop…"

The moment everyone had gotten settled into their seats in the car Sora had started blasting his most annoying music – 90's boy bands. The brunette sat in the passengers seat in the front, singing loudly, and Riku seemed to either be deaf or otherwise not mind, because he was simply contenting himself with driving. Or maybe he had been smart and brought earplugs along. Roxas on the other hand…

Roxas was having an extremely difficult time tuning out the loud, annoyingly pop-y music. Not only did Sora have the stereo cranked up all the way as he sang along, but Roxas was sitting next to another person who seemed to enjoy singing along at the top of his lungs as well.

Yes, Roxas had somehow managed to get stuck in the back seat next to _Axel_ of all people. And it seemed as though Axel shared Sora's enthusiasm for singing along loudly and off-tune to extremely lame music. That was probably what got to the blonde the most – not the volume level or the annoying singing along, but the actual music itself. If only it wasn't something so disgustingly sugary and… and… boy band-y!

"Urgh… SORA!" Roxas finally burst, unable to handle it anymore. "Can we _please_ change the music?"

Sora turned around in his seat to look back at Roxas, a puzzled expression on his face. "You mean you don't like this?"

"Yeah, Rrrrrrrrrrrroxas – what's wrong with this music?"

Roxas turned to Axel, who was trying to have an innocent expression, but failed drastically because one corner of his mouth kept twitching up into a smirk. _That… that…BASTARD! He KNOWS how horrible this music is but goes along with it anyways just because he knows it bothers me! ARGH! Do the limits of his freaky jerkdom never end?!_

Roxas sighed, trying to keep his cool and make his request in a totally calm, polite, and completely un-offensive way. "Um… I was just thinking… maybe we could give it a break and switch to something else…"

"Oh. Okay!" Sora agreeably chirped. _THANK YOU!!!_ Roxas thought, a wave of relief washing over him as the music cut off. Sora fidgeted with the stereo for a minute or so, switching the music, before he turned back to Roxas and flashed him a grin and a thumbs up. Roxas weakly smiled back, thankful that he wouldn't have to listen to any more annoying 90's boy ba –

"IT'S TEARIN' UP MY HEART WHEN I'M WITH YOU! AND WHEN WE ARE APART, I FEEL IT TOOOOOO!"

"ARGH! Sora! This isn't what I meant!"

Sora turned in his seat again, looking back to Roxas with an extremely confused expression. Out of the corner of his eye Roxas could see Axel smirking again. Damn him. Apparently Roxas was going to have to be very specific in his music request.

"Um… I was just wondering if we could listen to something that wasn't… you know… a boy band?"

Sora's confused expression immediately vanished. "Ooooooh! Okay! Why didn't you say so?" Sora fiddled with the stereo once more before turning back to Roxas again after a few minutes. "Is this better?"

"WHAT'S YOUR NAME, WHAT'S YOUR NAME? OH! I REALLY WANNA KNOW! YOU GOT ME GOING CRAZY AND I WANT YOU MORE AND MORE! OH! HEY! THIS COULD BE SOMETHING REAL! I GOTTA LET YOU KNOW THE WAY I FEEL!"

Roxas's brain was suddenly flooded with images of a little blonde boy singing in a disgustingly pop-y manner, making sure to fit the word 'girl' into every song to remind his listeners that he was not batting for his own team. Roxas wasn't convinced. And he was pretty sure every time Sora switched the music it got progressively worse, so it was probably best to simply put up with this for now.

"Uh, yeah. This is fine, Sora."

As soon as Sora had turned back around, Axel turned to face Roxas, giving the blonde a devious smirk and upping the volume of his singing. How the heck did Axel know the words to all these songs?! He probably learned them just on the off chance that one day he would have the opportunity to sing them very loud in an enclosed space with someone who hated him. Roxas wanted to smack him but refrained. He instead contented himself with staring at the window, trying to find something interesting to look at.

Tree, tree, post, tree, post, bush, post, tree…

Somehow Roxas wasn't too surprised that there wasn't anything of interest outside the window at five thirty in the morning.

After a while, Roxas found that if he tried hard enough, he could manage to block out the sounds of the music and Sora and Axel singing. As long as he concentrated on something else _really, really hard_, they could just fade into an annoying background. Letting his thoughts wander for a bit, Roxas nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt a sudden weight slump against his side.

"Huh?" Turning his head, Roxas found that Axel had just pretty much passed out on him, his eyes closed and his breathing even. "Oh, gah! Axel, get off!" Roxas said, pushing at the redhead in vain.

"Aw… how cute."

Roxas glanced up to see Sora having turned around in his seat yet again, looking back at Axel and Roxas with an expression like he was looking at cute, cuddling, puppies and kittens or something. Roxas didn't see what the heck was so cute about it. Axel was using him as a freaking _pillow_! That wasn't cute – it was insulting and annoying!

"Sora, could you help get him off of me?"

"Aw, why would you want to do that?" Sora asked with an adoring smile, eyes googily and full of sparkles. "He's _cuddling_ you."

"No he isn't." Roxas snapped back in a grumble, still attempting to push Axel off. "He's squashing me. Get him off."

"Aw, but he _likes_ you." Sora insisted, and Roxas swore if Sora said 'aw' one more time he would somehow launch himself out from under Axel and get up there and strangle the brunette.

"I don't care if he likes me, I don't like _him._" Roxas responded, squirming in an attempt to scooch away from the offending redhead. "I don't want him sleeping on me."

"Come on, he can't weigh that much, and besides, you can use him as a pillow back. We've still got a long way to go and you can sleep on the way there so it won't seem like such a long trip."

Roxas dearly wanted to point out that the freakily thin male was a lot heavier than he looked, and he very much doubted he'd be able to sleep with half of his body being crushed, and with loud, obnoxious music still being blasted in the background, but decided that he'd just deal with it on his own and let Sora go back to thinking everything was fine, and that he had a good taste in music and friends and places to go on a birthday trip.

But Roxas must have eventually managed to drift off into sleep, because the next thing he knew there was a stomach churning lurch as the van came to a sudden stop and a door was slamming closed behind Sora as he bolted out, screaming.

"WE'RE HERE, WE'RE HERE, WE'RE HEEEEEEERE!!"

Roxas rubbed his eyes, groaning at the sudden noise level and brightness. He must have been asleep for the whole car ride, because the last thing he remembered the sun was barely coming up over the horizon, and now it was casting bright beams straight through the window and into his eyes. He heard a second door open and shut, leaving him to reason that Riku must have gotten out of the car as well, possibly to try and keep Sora under control. Roxas vaguely noted that some sort of bizarre Disney remix music was playing in the background.

Finding himself having somehow shifted into a half-laying position in the seat, Roxas moved to sit up, only to find that, once again, his movement was restricted.

_Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me…_

Looking down, Roxas found that Axel was lying sprawled across the seat, using Roxas as a living body pillow. His head lay on Roxas's chest, the strands of his fiery hair just barely brushing against the underside of Roxas's throat. To top it off, it seemed as though Axel was one to cuddle in his sleep, because he had his arms securely wrapped around Roxas's waist. An embarrassed blush immediately appeared on Roxas's cheeks and he uselessly shoved at Axel, trying to push him off. However, the more he tried, the harder Axel clung to him, tightening his hold around his wait and nuzzling his face into Roxas's chest, mumbling something incoherent in his sleep. _Oh, URGH! This is so wrong on so many levels… But at least no one is here to see it… maybe I can get him off before Sora or Riku come back to check on – _

_**FLASH!!**_

Blinking at the sudden, blinding light, Roxas glared at its source once all of the little white spots of light cleared from his vision. Sora was leaning over from his seat, having somehow managed to get back in without Roxas noticing. A camera dangled in his outstretched hands, and he was grinning widely.

"Rise and shine, Roxas! We're here!"

"I noticed." Roxas grumbled. "And Sora, please tell me you didn't just take a picture of this."

"Well, duh! Of course I did!" Sora affirmed, turning the camera around and showing Roxas the picture on the little screen. If Roxas had been able to, he would have surged forward, grabbed the camera and chucked it at the nearest hard, solid object. Possibly Axel's head. "Isn't it cute? Riku got me this new digital camera for my birthday, wasn't that nice of him?"

"Yeah. Real nice." Roxas mumbled irritatedly.

"I got another really cute one of you guys when you were both sleeping!" Sora announced, pressing a button and bringing the picture up to show Roxas. Roxas thought he was going to die, right then and there. Or throw up. Or both. There it was, clearly etched in 8.0 megapixel glory– Axel and Roxas cuddling in their sleep. Roxas noticed with a large amount of distaste that his sleeping self didn't seem to be protesting Axel's body on him all that much. Actually, he looked pretty comfortable, darn it, what with his peaceful expression and… HOLY GUACAMOLE! FOR ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, WERE THOSE _HIS_ ARMS WRAPPED AROUND AXEL'S BACK?!?! _Curses!_ Apparently his body turned traitorous in his sleep.

"Uh, so yeah… I don't suppose there's any chance of you deleting those pictures, is there?" Roxas asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. Sora looked scandalized at the suggestion.

"Delete them!? No way! I'm keeping all the pictures I take on this trip and making a photo album to remember it by!"

"Oh. Great." Roxas commented, hoping Sora wouldn't get the bright idea to go around showing everyone. He probably would anyways, but that didn't mean Roxas couldn't hope. "Well now that's you've got it all documented on your camera and everything, could you get him off me? I wanna get out of this damn car."

"Okay!" Sora brightly chirruped, reaching out to tug on Axel's shirt. "AXEL, AXEL, AXEL! WAKE UP! WE'RE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!"

With a start, Axel sat up, banging his head on the roof of the car. "Ow! What the Hell? Shut up, Sora! I'm up! I'm up!"

Roxas rolled his eyes at Sora's tactics – annoying, but effective. Roxas would have liked to have thought he could have accomplished the same thing given enough time, but knew he wasn't quite up to achieving Sora's level of pure, unadulterated annoyance that could pull even the dead from their slumber. Roxas used his newfound freedom to his advantage, crawling out from under Axel and literally falling out of the car. He hadn't really taken the time to realize his legs were asleep.

Standing back up, Roxas placed his hands on his hips, surveying the area. Hmm… there seemed to be a few too many trees for his liking… Roxas had issues with trees. They just kind of… sat there and… loomed over you. He especially hated planter trees in the city, where they were obviously out of place. There was nothing more nature-relatedly annoying than out-of-place trees.

But these trees seemed okay for the most part, despite their abundance. They obviously belonged there, and Roxas didn't get the creepy looming feeling like he usually did around surrounding trees. Actually, these trees were actually kinda nice… In fact… maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Sure, there was dirt and rocks to deal with but maybe he could get in touch with his rugged, outdoors-y side. Yeah, that was it, he'd get in touch with his inner manly!Roxas. Out here in the wilderness. Living off the land. Getting to know nature and all that. Why, maybe he could even –

"RRRRRRRRRRROXAS!"

Suddenly something sharp sunk down on the juncture of Roxas's neck and shoulder, and the blonde gave out an extremely unmanly, nearly in_human_ shriek.

"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"

Whirling around, Roxas stared wide-eyed at his assailant, who was looking a little shocked himself. Axel's eyes were almost as wide as Roxas's and his fiery hair was standing on end. "What the hell _was_ that?"

"YOU BIT ME!" Roxas shouted, pointing a finger accusingly. "You sick, twisted freak – you just BIT ME! _WHAT THE HELL_?!"

Axel held up his hands in defense, still not looking like he entirely grasped the reaction that he had just gotten from the blonde. "Hey, sorry, how was I supposed to know you were gonna freak out?"

Roxas's shock and fear gave way to irritation and embarrassment. "You bit me." He repeated, sounding very affronted. "Dudes don't bite other dudes."

"Pfffft, whatever." Axel replied, starting to regain his amusement as a slight smirk made its way across his features. "You scream like a girl."

"I do not!" Roxas indignantly shot back, even though he knew he did.

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too."

"Do – FINE! Just don't tell anybody!"

"Oh, I won't." Axel promised, crossing an 'x' across his heart. Roxas glared, not believing him any further than he could throw him, and Axel just smiled back sweetly. They stood like that for a minute, neither saying a word, before Axel abruptly spun on his heels, running off. "SOOOOOOOOOORA!!! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIKU! ROXAS SCREAMS LIKE A GIIIRL!!!!"

Roxas immediately gave chase, running after the redhead as fast as he could. "AXEL! YOU JERK! GET BACK HERE!!"

Axel merely continued sprinting off towards where Sora and Riku had scampered off to, grinning and laughing madly as Roxas ran after him, right on his heels but not close enough to stop him in any way. Suddenly Axel made a dramatic switch in direction. Roxas, not anticipating the sudden swerve, tried to follow after him, but only succeeded in turning out and falling to the dirt. Laughing, Axel scampered back over to Roxas, bending down and supporting his weight with his hands on his knees as he smiled down at Roxas, who was glaring back at him. Somehow the glare just didn't have the same kick to it when Roxas was rubbing his sore, dirt-covered butt.

"Have a nice trip?" Axel taunted.

"Screw you." Roxas shot back.

"Is that an offer?"

Roxas barely had time to glance back to Axel in dumbstruck horror before Sora was running up to them, a friendly dog at his side.

"Hey guys, look what I found down by the creek!"

"…a dog?" Axel replied, questioning the obvious.

"Yeah!" Sora gleefully affirmed. Roxas was slightly amazed at the simplicity of Sora's guessing games. "Isn't he cute?"

"Sure." Axel agreed, watching the animal run up to Roxas (who was still sprawled out on the ground) and lick his face. Roxas pushed it away, not that he didn't like dogs, but because it seemed rather like adding insult to injury at the moment. Scream like a girl, fall on your butt in the dirt, get licked by a dog… it was a rather demeaning chain of events in his opinion.

Riku casually sauntered up to the group, having elected to walk back as opposed to run like an idiot with Sora and the dog. "Hey guys." He greeted. "Sora, I think it's time to be done playing with the dog now. We should probably take it back to its owners before they worry."

"Awwwww! Riiiiiiikuuuu!" Sora whined, a pout forming. "I wanna keeeep him!"

"Sora, you can't keep him." Riku explained. "He's already got a family that loves him and would miss him."

"How do you know?" Sora argued.

Riku sighed. Dealing with Sora was a lot like dealing with a little kid. Actually, it was almost _exactly_ the same as dealing with a little kid. "Sora, he has a collar and vaccination tags and everything."

"So?"

"So that means he already has an owner who takes care of him."

"Does not!" Sora insisted. "It just means he doesn't have rabies!"

Ah, the joys of Sora logic.

Riku turned back to Axel and Roxas, who both gave him sympathetic looks. "I'm gonna take Sora back down to the creek to find this guy's owner, okay? Can you guys unpack the stuff from the car while we're gone?"

"Sure!" Axel agreed helpfully. Roxas almost said no out of pure spite for getting dragged along on this trip, but eventually agreed as well.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Thanks." Riku called back as he led a pouting Sora off to the creek. Axel and Roxas watched them walk off for a minute before turning back to the task at hand.

"Need some help up?" Axel snickered, extending an arm.

"I'm _fine_, thanks." Roxas spat back, picking himself out of the dirt rather ungracefully. Standing and brushing himself off, Roxas looked back to Axel, about to snap at him to get his butt in gear and start heading back to unpack the van, when he noticed that Axel concentration was still on watching Sora and Riku's retreating figures. "Um… Axel?"

"So how long have those two been together, exactly?"

"EXCUSE ME?!" Roxas's jaw dropped at the sudden question, unsure of how to respond first – shock, anger, repulsion… the list went on and on.

"Oh, come on, Roxas." Axel smirked. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed. Even you're not that dumb."

"SORA AND RIKU ARE NOT TOGETHER!" Roxas burst, unsure as to why he was being so defensive.

"Ah. I see." Axel said, taking a step closer. "Rrrrrroxas is a little touchy about gay relationships. Not quite ready to come out of the closet yet, my little creampuff?"

"I AM NOT GAY!" Roxas shouted, and then realized that probably wasn't something to be shouting to the entire campground. "I like girls! _GIRLS_! GIRLS WITH _BOOBS_!"

"Whatever you say." Axel responded in a patronizing manner, petting Roxas's head as he walked past him and back to the van.

Roxas silently fumed, watching Axel's retreating figure and willing a tree to spontaneously burst into flame and fall on him.

**.x.X.x.**

Somehow Axel and Roxas managed to get the car unpacked without killing eachother, and when Sora and Riku showed back up (minus one friendly dog) the four of them all set up camp. Currently it was early evening and they were all sitting around the campfire, exhausted after a long day of driving and running around the camp. Roxas had been ignoring Axel ever since he found out the two of them would be sharing a tent ("But it's just so much easier to bring two tents and just share than bring four individual tents!" Sora had protested.) and was being rather short with everyone else. Riku made the mistake of labeling Roxas as "sulking" and had nearly gotten his head bitten off and therefore refrained from making any further comments about Roxas's attitude.

"Hey let's sing campfire songs!" Sora suggested. Axel immediately agreed, loving any chance to be annoying, and Riku, of course, was willing to go along with anything Sora suggested, as long as it was not too illegal and no one got too hurt. Roxas shuddered. Riku was_ 'willing to go along with anything Sora suggested'._ Why did Axel have to go and make that weird comment earlier today? Now every time Roxas saw Sora and Riku within five feet of each other his mind started subconsciously coming up with really awkward and unwanted thoughts.

Roxas suddenly realized that Sora had initiated a ridiculous campfire song and that everyone else had joined in. Part of him was screaming to just continue sulking, but another more persistent, nagging part of him was telling himself that he really _did_ want to join in – that it was no fun being left out. Quietly, Roxas joined in.

After a minute of getting more used to it, Roxas picked up his voice a little. No sooner had he done so, however, than Axel – who was sitting next to him, OF COURSE – turned to look at him out of the corner of his eye. What, did this guy just have built in "potentially embarrassing Roxas situation" sensors or something?! Roxas immediately quieted down, slumping a bit in embarrassment. A sly smile graced Axel's lips, and a resulting blush spread across Roxas's cheeks. He was very insecure about his singing voice.

Roxas sulked for the rest of the song, and when it ended he stood up, announcing that he was going to bed.

"Roxas! You can't go to bed yet! It's not even that dark out yet!" Sora protested.

"So?"

"SOOO." Sora retorted, in the same tone as one generally uses to say 'DUUUUUUH!' to a particularly slow individual. "The rule is that you're not allowed to go to bed until there is at least one star out!"

Roxas looked skeptical. "Who made up that rule?"

"Me!" Sora happily informed him.

Roxas rolled his eyes before looking up at the darkening sky. "There." He said, pointing. "There's a star. I'm allowed to go to bed."

Everyone looked up, squinting at where Roxas had pointed. "Um, Roxas?" Sora said, a little confused. "I'm pretty sure that one doesn't count. It's moving. I think it's an airplane."

Roxas heaved a sigh, pointing at another 'star'. "That one then."

Sora, Riku, and Axel all turned their heads to the new spot at which Roxas had pointed. Roxas offhandedly realized that this could be a pretty fun game if he was in a better mood – making up random stars to point out and watching everyone swivel their heads to search it out. But as it was, he was tired of games; he was irritated and he just wanted to go to bed.

"Roxas…" Sora began, a little uncertainly, as if he was trying not to upset Roxas. "That's Venus… It's a planet… And it you can see it out _hours_ before you can see any stars…"

"I don't care!" Roxas half-shouted, exasperated. "I'm tired and I'm going to bed." Moving to stride purposefully past Axel to get to his tent, Roxas had almost cleared the campfire when he was stopped by a hand latching on to his wrist. Snapping his head back around, Roxas was met by the intense, green stare of Axel. "What?"

"Nice singing voice." Axel muttered, quietly enough that Sora and Riku, across the fire, couldn't hear. Roxas was about to snap back a response something along the lines of "screw you" when he noticed there was no teasing quality in Axel voice or expression. That was… weird. And he'd even lowered his voice so the other two couldn't hear, meaning it wasn't meant as a mean joke for the others to hear. Could it be that Axel was being… sincere?

Roxas was rather unnerved by this change in the other male's attitude and he quickly tugged his arm away. He thought about saying 'thank you' but he still couldn't be entirely sure that this wasn't some sort of a tease. He instead opted for a parting "whatever", heading off to the tent to settle in for a well deserved rest after what felt like the longest, most frustrating day of his young life. Quickly stripping out of his dirty clothes and slipping into a pair of warm pajama pants and a sleep t-shirt, and a large sweatshirt pulled on for added warmth, Roxas crawled into his sleeping bag, pulling it around him and shivering a bit. It sure did get cold out here in the evenings.

Closing his eyes, Roxas willingly let sleep overcome him, falling into a light on-and-off doze. It _was_ a little early to be truly falling asleep, but he greatly preferred at least attempting to rather than sitting out there with everyone, feeling stupid and out of place. Stupid Sora dragging him out into the woods. Stupid Axel being a jerk and making his life miserable. Stupid Riku… actually Riku hadn't really done anything to him. Stupid Riku not giving him a reason to be pissed at him.

And what had been with that last parting comment of Axel's? Roxas still couldn't tell what was meant by it. Axel had certainly _looked _sincere enough, but why the heck would he just randomly be nice to him after a full day of torture? Roxas almost didn't want the stupid redhead to have meant it, because then he would have to re-evaluate his opinion of him. And he was perfectly fine with hating Axel. Yep. That was just the way he wanted it.

He lay like that for a while, just thinking, before he was interrupted by the sound of the tent's zipper door being pulled open with an extremely loud whirr, followed with a rather loud stage-whisper. "Hey, Roxas, you asleep?"

"Yes." The blonde grumbled, rolling over and facing away from the door.

"Oh…" Axel sounded a little disappointed almost, and Roxas's stomach gave a strange flutter of… NOT guilt. Roxas was also struck with NOT a blush as he heard the rustling of cloth signaling that Axel was getting changed. Another zipper was pulled as Axel pulled his sleeping bag open and climbed in, settling down. Silence filled the tent and Roxas let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Thank God that Axel was done bothering him for the day.

"So. Let's talk."

Roxas let out a groan, burying his face in his pillow. "No. Go to sleep, Axel."

He could hear the rustling of cloth as Axel shifted in his sleeping bag, rolling on his side and propping himself up on his elbows to look at Roxas. "Aw, come on. It's not that late yet."

"Stop bothering me."

"I get the feeling you don't like me very much."

"No duh."

"So what's your favourite colour?"

"Go to _sleep_, Axel!"

For a minute it seemed as though Axel had actually listened to him, for the only sounds that filled the tent were both boys' breath and whatever sounds of crickets and other night life were about, as well as the drifting conversation from other campers. Roxas sighed again, settling down in his sleeping bag and closing his eyes, trying very hard not to focus on the other boy's presence only a few feet away. But it seemed as though Axel had settled down as well and Roxas had nothing to worry about. His guards could go down for the night.

"BURRITO!!"

Suddenly and extremely unexpectedly Roxas was being smothered. "WHAT THE HELL!? AXEL!"

Maniacal laughter filled the tent as Axel continued to roll back and forth over Roxas, wrapped up in his sleeping bag like some freakishly annoying living burrito that liked to go around rolling on little blonde boys as they were trying to go to sleep.

"AXEL! GET THE FUCK OFF ME! OW!"

Suddenly Roxas gave a violent surge, successfully knocking Axel off of him. Somehow the redhead had crushed him in a very painful way in that last roll and Roxas was none too happy about it. Axel landed to the side with a soft thump, still chuckling to himself. However, his laughter was quickly cut off as Roxas finally managed to untangle himself from his mess of a sleeping bag, launching himself at Axel and tackling him into the ground.

"Ow! Hey! Roxas, lay off!"

"NO!" Roxas shot back indignantly, trying to wrestle Axel out of his sleeping bag so that he could more effectively take out his frustrations on him. Somehow in their struggles, he managed to roll them both over to the side of the tent, sending them into a tent pole with enough force to make it collapse on itself, as well as making a great deal of noise in the process.

"Hey, you guys okay over there?" Riku's voice called out from the direction of his and Sora's tent.

There was a pause as both Roxas and Axel paused in their tussle, Axel looking up at Roxas imploringly and Roxas glaring back down at him.

"Guys?"

"We're fine!" Roxas called back, angrily pushing himself off Axel and making his way back to his side of the tent, huffily wrapping his battered sleeping bag around himself. He could hear Axel doing the same on his side of the small, now dilapidated tent, but refused to look over, knowing that if he did he would see Axel stupid face and want to punch it in.

Axel sighed, laying back down. "Sorry Roxas. I didn't mean to hurt you."

In Roxas's opinion, Axel wasn't sorry _enough_ so he refused to dignify the apology with a response.

"Hey Roxas, I said – "

"I heard you." Roxas snapped, still not accepting Axel's apology, or even thanking him for it. He heard Axel heave another sigh. _That's right, you BETTER feel guilty, freakface! Stew over there in your guilt! STEW IN IT! _

Minutes passed by, a longer span of silence than Roxas had ever experienced in Axel's presence than ever before. Roxas actually started to get a little worried. Was Axel okay over there? Had he stewed himself to death? Had another tent pole silently collapsed on him and killed him? Maybe this was just another trick… yeah, that's it. Axel was _trying_ to get Roxas paranoid. Well it may have been working, but Roxas sure as hell wasn't going to let him know that. No, he was going to just curl up in his little corner, unconcerned for that porcupine-haired jerk, and go to sleep. He was strong! He did not care about whatever Axel was doing over there. Not one bit!

Slowly Roxas turned over, trying to make absolutely no noise whatsoever. Cautiously he peered out of his sleeping bag, only to be greeted with the sight of Axel's grinning face staring right back at him from a few feet away.

"BURRITO!"

"Oh _HELL_ no!"

**.o.O.o.**

Oh, poor Roxas! He's really just not a camping kind of kid. XD Too bad he's still got a looooooong ways to go before this trip is over!


	3. Lake Day

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: peanut butter sandwiches

Suggested beverage: hot chocolate

Suggested listening: Water-themed music. Possibly the KH version of 'Under the Sea'

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 03: Lake Day**

-o-

_"Bark! Bark, bark, bark! BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK!"_

Roxas angrily sat up in the dim, filtered, light of early morning, unzipping a tent window and looking outside. "HEY! SHUT YOUR DOG UP! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO – Sora?!"

"Morning Roxas!" Sora called back with a wave from across the campsite, where he was up, fully dressed, and throwing a stick for the same dog as he had brought back from the creek yesterday. Roxas flopped back down on his sleeping bag with a groan. Why the hell did Sora always insist on waking up so early?! Or rather, why did Sora insist on waking everyone else up with him?

Heaving a giant sigh and realizing there was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep now, Roxas rolled over, only to crash into something very solid and warm. Definitely not his sleeping bag.

"AXEL! GRAH! Get out of my bed!"

Axel was sprawled across nearly the entire tent, effectively edging into most of Roxas's sleeping space. Had he been like that the whole night? _Had they cuddled AGAIN!?_ "Axel! Axel get out of here!" Roxas growled, attempting to shove the other male out of his space. Axel however, proving to be a pain even in his sleep, simply rolled back against Roxas's shoves, throwing an arm over the blonde. "EW! GET OFF ME!"

Thrashing wildly, Roxas untangled himself and scooted to the corner of the tent, pulling his knees up to his chest and trying to take up the least amount of space possible. Axel rolled back over, mumbling something in his sleep as he gave a weak slap at the air muttering, "Nnnmm… no. Give it to Selphie!" Roxas wasn't quite sure what to do. Obviously it was not safe to go back to sleep, but he also didn't want to be getting changed to go outside in a confined space with Axel. For some reason he was compelled to be fully covered around the redhead. It just seemed safer that way. In the end, Roxas opted to just go outside in his pajamas.

"Hi Roxas!" Sora greeted. Roxas grunted in response, flopping down in a chair at the fire. Riku was already there, adding wood to it, which he had personally chopped yesterday afternoon. Roxas was a little bitter about the fact that Riku was more manly than him. He had attempted helping yesterday, but only managed to hit the log properly once or twice, sending only the most pathetic little chips flying off, mocking him as they fell mere inches away. But at least Riku had trusted him enough to let him try – Axel hadn't even been allowed near the axe.

"Morning Roxas." Riku said, moving to the portable stove they had set up and taking a pot of boiling water off of the burner.

"Morning." Roxas answered. He didn't mind talking to Riku in the mornings. Riku was a normal person and didn't act as though he had already consumed massive amounts of sugar the moment he woke up like some _other_ people Roxas knew. In the background, Sora ran past, screaming, the dog at his heels.

"How long has he been up?" Roxas inquired.

"About two hours." Riku informed him in a deadpan voice. Ah, so it seemed as though the Wonderous and Perfect Riku wasn't as impermeable to Sora's energy levels as Roxas had always believed. "Want some hot chocolate?"

"Sure." Roxas said, accepting the steaming mug that Riku handed him. He sipped it for a minute in silence as Riku fiddled with the stove, and tossing things into a greased pan, attempting to make some sort of breakfast for himself.

"So." Riku began after a minute. "What happened to your guys' tent?"

Roxas looked up from his hot chocolate to glance in confusion to Riku, who gestured to Roxas and Axel's tent a little ways off. It had been hard to tell last night in the dark, but now, looking at it from the outside in the day, it was painfully obvious that there was something very wrong with the setup of the little canvas shelter. One entire corner was collapsed, the canvas drooping loosely and the pole that was supposed to be holding it up sticking out at an odd angle. Oh well. At least it wasn't on his side of the tent.

"Axel did it." Roxas explained without further elaboration, going back to sipping his drink. Riku shrugged, accepting the answer and going back to making himself breakfast.

"Hey guys!" Sora called out, running over to Roxas and Riku. "Is Axel awake yet?"

"No." Roxas replied. _And let's keep it that way._ He added in his head. _When he's asleep he's in the tent, and when he's in the tent he's not out here bothering me. _

"No!?" Sora echoed, sounding astonished. "Well I guess I better go wake him up! We've got a big day ahead of us!" As much as Roxas was disappointed that Axel would soon be joining them, he consoled himself with the knowledge that it was going to be Sora who was running off to wake him. He smirked at the thought of the unpleasant wake up that the redhead was about to receive.

"AAAAAAAAAAAXEEEEEEEL!" Sora cried out, running off to the tent and unzipping the door flap in one fluid motion, diving in and followed by his canine companion. "It's time to get UUUUUUUUUUUUP!!" Roxas let out a content sigh at hearing his tent mate's sleepily angry and confused yelling, mixed with Sora's eager shouting and a whole lot of barking. A minute or so later Sora came speeding out of the tent, his hair even more chaotic than usual, but wearing a huge smile on his face. "Axel's up!" he informed Roxas and Riku.

It wasn't long before they were joined by a very disgruntled looking Axel, who shot a glare at Sora as he sat down next to Roxas by the morning fire. Almost imperceptibly, Axel scooted his chair an inch or two closer. Roxas scooted his away a foot or so.

"So then!" Sora began. "Now that we're all up –" Axel shot another glare in Sora's direction. "– I can finally tell you the plans for today – our first day camping! Yay! And today's gonna be a great first day, cause we're going to the lake and renting skidoos!"

Sora was met with blank stares as everyone tried to process what he meant by that.

"Um… we're renting _what_, exactly?" Axel eventually spoke up, seeming to be more awake now, and considerably less bitter about his rude awakening. Roxas and Riku nodded, wondering the same thing.

"Jet Skis!" Sora enthusiastically clarified. A resounding "ooooooooh." of understanding came from the gathered group. "So everyone go get changed – we've gotta get there early or they'll be all rented out!"

**.x.X.x.**

It took a short car ride to get to the lake, and Roxas insisted on sitting up front in the passenger's seat. No way was he ending up stuck in the back with the freaky redhead once again. At first Sora had pouted and not wanted to get traded to the back, but he eventually complied and recovered from his reluctance quite quickly, striking up a loud and annoying conversation with Axel while simultaneously back-seat DJ-ing, ordering Roxas to turn knobs and press buttons until they hit upon music that the brunette was satisfied with. Roxas was actually starting to weigh his options as to where he would sit on the way back. Axel was a pain, but than again, Axel _plus_ Sora might have actually been worse to have to put up with.

Arriving at the lake and pulling into a parking spot, Sora immediately flew out of the car, running around for a second before coming back to give everyone their instructions. "Okay you guys! Me an' Riku are gonna head over to that little spot way over there and set up our area for the day! That way no one else will get a chance to claim it or bother us since it's pretty far away from everything else. Roxas, you and Axel are gonna be in charge of going and getting our skidoos! We've only got enough money for two, but that's okay – we can share! Once you've got them you can just take them over the lake to our spot on the beach, that sound good?"

No, it _didn't_ sound good to Roxas. It meant more alone time with Axel. But since he had been spared the car ride over thanks to Sora, he figured he'd just have to suck it up and deal with it. "Yeah, fine."

"Okay! Thanks guys!" Sora called out, grabbing Riku's wrist and dragging him off.

"Why do I always get stuck with Axel?" Roxas muttered to himself as he turned to head for the Jet Ski rental place.

"Probably because Sora wants more alone time for him and Riku to run off into the woods together." Axel replied with a smirk, falling in step with the blonde.

"EW!" Roxas shouted, rounding on Axel. "God, would you cut it out? That's just… gross!"

"But so true. I bet they're already canoodling as we speak." Axel added. "Mmm… Sora/Riku."

"Oh, I am NOT hearing this!" Roxas replied, placing his hands over his ears and purposefully making his way to the rental store. Axel followed along, grinning.

A little bell above the door dinged as they entered the store, walking over to the counter which a depressed looking blonde stood behind. "Um, hey." Roxas began, not sure if the blonde was upset by their arrival, or just in general. "We're here to pick up two skidoo – er, jet skis."

Sighing, the blonde nodded. "Will you be paying by the hour or do you want them for the full day?"

"Um…" Roxas wasn't sure what to say. Sora hadn't specified. "Well how much is the difference in cos – "

"Full day!" Axel cut in.

"Um, okay…" Roxas said, handing over the money Sora had shoved at him and hoping they had enough.

"So how fast are they?" Axel inquired of the man behind the counter, squinting at the guy's nametag. "…Cloud?" He added for a personal touch.

"Fast." Cloud answered in perfect monotone, dully counting out the money. "Can I see your identification?" Roxas handed over his ID, feeling slightly bad for this Cloud guy. He seemed to hate his job even more than Roxas hated his.

"Like, _how _fast?" Axel pressed.

"Really fast." Cloud responded, writing down some information.

"Like really, _really_ fast? "

"Yes."

"Oh man, I bet they're so amazingly super fast and fun!" Axel said, turning to Roxas with a weird gleam in his eye. Apparently 'amazingly super fast and fun' things stirred some freaky primal instincts in Axel. "Are they amazingly super fast and fun?" This question was once again directed at Cloud, who seemed to be trying very hard to get the rental information filled out as fast as possible.

"Yes. They're amazingly super fast and fun." He responded, handing over two pairs of keys with a look that clearly told them to shut up and go.

"Have you ever been on one?" Axel continued, ignoring the fact that Roxas had taken the keys and, technically, they could leave now. Roxas couldn't believe his situation. The guy _ran the rental store_ for crying out loud!

"Yes." Cloud answered, staring at them and clearly wondering why they weren't gone yet.

"Can you do amazing tricks and stuff?" Axel inquired, gripping the counter eagerly. "Like flips and turns and jumps and –"

"Ahem."

Roxas, Axel and Cloud turned to see a rather intimidating looking brunette with a ragged scar running over his face standing at the side door, not looking at all amused by the conversation taking place. In fact, he looked like he'd like nothing more than to violently chuck Axel and Roxas right out of the store for daring to so much as talk to the employee behind the counter. Roxas's figurative tail went between his legs and he fought off the urge to scamper off whimpering. Even Axel immediately shut up, looking a little worried himself.

"Your jet skis are around the back. Have them back here by the end of the day." The man (Leon, according to his nametag) told them, leaving the 'Now get the hell out of my store' unsaid.

"Yes sir!" Roxas squeaked, hightailing it out of the store, Axel following after him. Once they were out of sight and hearing range, completely around the side of the building, Axel spoke up.

"Those guys are so totally screwing."

"AXEL!" Roxas burst. "God, you are so sick!"

"Oh don't even deny it." Axel retorted with an amused smirk. "You _know_ they are. Did you see the way that guy was looking at us? Like some angry lion protecting a kill. A kill he wanted to _screw_."

Axel was positively leering his face off, again only about a couple inches from Roxas's own face, and Roxas felt a blush rising. "Whatever, Axel." He spat, shoving him off and climbing onto one of the jet skis. "Let's just go." Axel swung his leg over the other jet ski, eagerly shoving the keys in. "We're not allowed to go fast inside the docking area." Roxas felt the need to point out, slipping into the regulation life jacket that they were required to wear.

"I know." Axel replied, revving the engine and not seeming to have really heard what Roxas had just said. Roxas frowned at him.

"And you need to put on your – "

_VWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!_

With the engines roaring, Axel shot off, not wearing his life jacket or obeying the speed regulations. "Axel! AXEL!!!" Roxas swore under his breath, obediently taking off at the correct speed, waiting until he was out. The chances were not looking good.

Once out of the docking area, Roxas pushed the jet ski onward at full throttle, attempting to catch up to Axel, who was racing off into the distance in the general direction of the spot Sora had pointed out to them earlier. Even going as fast as the watercraft could go, Roxas knew he wasn't going to be able to catch up to Axel. Sighing, he settled for slowing down a little, realizing just how fast he had been going. Not that he wasn't allowed to push the jet ski all the way once out on the open lake, Roxas just wasn't a fan of things that went too fast or too wild. He'd seen enough movies to know that such things usually ended up in explosions. And as impressive as explosions may or may not have been, they almost always involved a large amount of fire and pain, so he wasn't going to risk it.

A few minutes later Roxas was pulling up to the beach, docking the jet ski in a few feet of water and using the tow rope to tie it up to a low, overhanging tree branch. Axel was already on shore and giving Sora and Riku a detailed description on what they had missed out on.

"…and then this guy comes out giving us this intense death glare, so I just _knew_ he was screwing the blonde guy –"

"Oh come on, Axel!" Roxas cut in, exasperated. "Don't keep telling everyone that."

Axel turned to Roxas, an unnerving smile gracing his features, feigned innocence dripping in his tone of voice. "What? You don't think there's anything _wrong_ with two guys screwing each other, do ya Rox?"

Roxas immediately wanted to snap out an indignant 'yes!' but noticed that Sora was giving him a rather innocently inquiring expression, looking like the answer to the question really _mattered, _and somehow it made Roxas feel like he would be a terrible person for saying so. "No." He mumbled, unbuckling his life jacket and setting it on a nearby rock.

Sora smiled widely, jumping up and down. "I want a turn on the skidoos!" he announced, clambering on to one of them and pulling a life vest over his mass of chocolate spikes, sloppily buckling the vest up. Roxas's fear of Sora operating anything more technical that a toaster resurfaced.

"I'll go with you." Riku insisted, both an offer of friendship and an attempt at damage control at the same time. "You guys mind if we take them out for a bit?"

"Go ahead." Axel said with a flippant wave. "We'll wait here."

"'K. Thanks guys." Riku said, buckling up his life jacket and climbing onto the other water vehicle. Sora waited impatiently for Riku to be ready to go, fidgeting in his seat as the motor rumbled. The moment Riku turned his own engine on Sora let out a giant whoop, taking off onto the lake, Riku following after him a second later. Thankfully it seemed as though Sora actually did know how to manage the jet skis, even if a little recklessly.

"You gotta admit they're perfect together." Axel voice came from not an inch away from Roxas's ear.

"Argh! Axel! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Roxas told him, turning around to glare at the redhead. "And why do you care so much?"

Axel shrugged. "I dunno. Mostly because it bothers you so much."

"Well… don't." Roxas weakly replied, looking away. He felt a little bad that it weirded him out so much – Sora and Riku were his friends after all – but his stomach couldn't help but give a funny twist every time Axel brought it up.

"Just Sora and Riku, or that kind of thing in general?" Axel asked, and Roxas turned to look at him in confusion. For a second Axel had sounded almost… serious. The same as when he had made the comment about Roxas's singing voice the other night. Once again, Roxas was torn between just snapping something back at him or answering honestly.

"I… I don't know!" he half-shouted in frustration, throwing his hands up. "Why does it matter?"

Axel just shrugged in response. Roxas rolled his eyes, moving to go dig out some food from the bag they had brought. Rummaging around, Roxas eventually pulled out a sandwich and a juice box, plopping down on a nearby picnic bench. Axel sat down next to him, watching the smaller boy eat his lunch. Roxas was extremely weirded out. Finally he couldn't take it anymore – he was almost done with his food and would like to finish eating the rest of it in _peace_!

"Axel! _What_ are you doing?" he snapped, sending a death glare at the redhead to convey his irritation.

"Watching you eat." Axel replied, like it was the most normal thing in the world to be doing.

"Well stop it, it's weird." Roxas told him, taking an angry bite out of his sandwich and trying to ignore Axel.

"Whatcha eating?"

"A sandwich." Roxas snapped, hoping if he just answered the question that Axel would leave him alone.

"What _kind_ of sandwich?"

"Leave me alone, Axel."

"But what kind of a sandwich is it?"

"PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY!" Roxas shouted, frustrated at the absurdity of the situation. Why the hell did Axel care what kind of a sandwich he had?

It seemed as though the answer satiated Axel, and they lapsed into silence. Roxas bitterly finished his food, no longer enjoying it. But at least Axel was no longer trying to make conversation about it. What a freak.

"Mmm… Peanut butter/jelly…"

"AXEL!!" Roxas shouted, standing up and not sure whether he wanted to hit the other male, or just go drown himself in the lake and rid himself of this idiocy once and for all. Axel just grinned up at him, not seeming at all intimidated by the blonde looming over him, attempting to look threatening.

"Hey guys, we're back!"

Roxas and Axel looked over to see Sora and Riku pulling up on their jet skis, Sora looking thrilled and Riku looking a bit disheveled, as though he had somehow been severely harassed out on the lake by some passing lake bullies. Such were the outcomes for trying to keep up with Sora.

"That was fast." Axel commented.

"Yeah, well, I uh… kinda almost hit a couple boats." Sora admitted, scratching at the back of his head sheepishly. "So Riku thought it might be better if we shared a skidoo for now. So we came back to drop this one off. You guys can use it now if you want!"

"Okay!" Axel eagerly responded. Somehow Roxas wasn't sure if having Axel out there on his own would be much better than Sora. "We'll be back in a bit!" Sora called out, hopping in Riku's lap and budging his way into the front seat so he could be the one in control of the steering. But at least now he had Riku right behind him to take control if (scratch that, more like _when,_ in Roxas's opinion) necessary.

The moment they took off, Axel turned to Roxas, that weird gleam back in his eyes. "Let's take it out!"

"_You_ can take it out." Roxas told him. "I am not going to be on that thing with you driving."

"Oh, come on, I'll be careful!" Axel pleaded. "Come on, come on, come on, come –"

"Fine!" Roxas cut in, once again simply agreeing to make the nagging go away. "God, you're as bad as Sora."

"Great, let's go!" Axel said, ignoring the comment and grabbing Roxas's wrist, dragging him off to the jet ski.

Roxas found himself unwillingly being strapped into a life jacket and pulled onto the back of the jet ski, trying his best not to sit too close to Axel. It was one thing to be dragged onto this stupid thing, but he certainly wasn't going to be seeking out any more contact than absolutely necessary.

"Um, Roxas, you're gonna have to hold on. If you don't you're just going to fall right off the moment I – "

"Fine." Roxas snapped, an irritated blush surfacing. Great. Now he was going to have to freaking _hug_ the guy. "But you have to put on your life jacket." He added, trying to maintain an aspect of control over the situation, however slight. "If we crash I'm not getting blamed for letting you drown."

"Oh, alright." Axel huffed, snatching one up from where it was tied to the side of the watercraft. Yanking off his annoying shirt with the words "Flame on!" emblazoned on the front in bold, glossy print, he threw it to the side. Roxas was a bit taken aback. He hadn't been expecting Axel to just… just… _strip_ right in front of him like that, and he found himself staring. Not in _appreciation_ or anything, just in shock. He noted that although Axel looked as thin as a freaking twig, he didn't look malnourished or anything. No, quite on the contrary, he actually looked rather…

BOOBLESS! Roxas reminded himself. Axel did not have boobs, therefore he was not a girl, therefore Roxas should _not_ be ogling at him. Staring. _Looking._ Whatever he was doing. Quickly turning away as Axel pulled on the life jacket, cinching it up and buckling it on, Roxas filled his mind with images of innocent things. Things that did not include shirtless Axel. Things like flowers and rainbows and puppies… all things that Roxas suddenly realized were very gay. Oh well. Not as gay at staring at a shirtless Axel.

"Happy?"

Roxas blinked up at Axel, who was twisted around in the front seat and giving Roxas an inquiring look. "Um, what?"

"Are you happy now?" Axel clarified. "I put the stupid floaty vest thing on."

"Oh. Yeah. Whatever." Roxas replied, scooting forward and barely gripping onto Axel's waist. "Let's just go."

"Alright!" Axel whooped, shoving the keys in the ignition. Revving it a couple times, he turned back to look at Roxas, a huge, ecstatic grin on his face. "You ready?" Roxas reminded himself that Axel was _not_ innocently cute when he was excited, because excited Axel usually led to disaster.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Roxas replied. "Just don't start off too –"

Axel floored it, sending a huge wave cascading back onto the beach behind them as he took off onto the lake. Roxas's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he belatedly scrambled for a better hold around the boy in front of him. Only a little ways out into the lake, Roxas's grip failed and he went slipping off the back, screaming.

Spluttering, Roxas surfaced, flicking his hair out of his face and coughing the water out of his lungs. Panicking slightly, he realized that he was a ways from shore, way over his head in the water. His life jacket kept him floating on the surface, bunching up around his face, and he scanned the lake for Axel. The guy was a jerk, but he wouldn't have just left him there, would he?

But no, a second later he spied Axel a ways off, making a u-turn and heading back to where Roxas was floating in the water. Pulling up alongside, grinning like a madman, Axel threw him the tow rope, hauling him in. "Told ya to hold on!"

"And I told _you_ not to take off too fast!" Roxas snapped, angry and embarrassed for getting thrown off right away.

"Oh, come on – you're fine." Axel laughed, grabbing Roxas's wrist to haul him back onto the jet ski. "Just hold on tighter this time." Muttering darkly under his breath, Roxas allowed himself to be pulled up, swinging his leg over the seat and scooting up to Axel, wrapping his arms fully and tightly around the other male's waist this time.

This time Axel didn't take off as fast, and for that Roxas was grateful. He was spared the jolt of going from zero to God-knows-what in under five seconds. However, it now seemed as though that Axel was sure Roxas was holding on, he was willing to sacrifice that initial burst of speed for a calculated buildup of it, allowing for better maneuverability in the long run.

Making a hard turn, Axel whooped as he formed a tight, perfect circle. Roxas fought the urge to pass out. His panic only increased when Axel made a few more tricky moves before heading straight for a passing boat. At first Roxas thought Axel had lost it and was going to pull a Sora and attempt to play a game of 'chicken' with an oncoming motorboat that was both bigger and faster than them, but soon realized that Axel was actually aiming the jet ski in a path that would end up with them passing directly _behind_ the boat.

"AXEL!" Roxas shouted above the sound of the engine, the water whooshing by them, and the nearly deafening rush of air that resulted from their speed. "AXEL YOU CAN'T GO BEHIND THAT BOAT! IT'S MAKING A HUGE WAKE AND IF YOU TRY TO GO THROUGH IT IT'S GOING TO LAUNCH US STRAIGHT OUT OF THE WATER!"

Axel nodded furiously, eyes locked straight ahead at their path. "I KNOW!"

Roxas's mind short circuited and crashed with realization. Axel was doing it on _purpose._ He really _was_ crazy!

"NO! AXEL YOU CAN'T! YOU'RE GOING TO GET US BOTH – "

"HOLD ON!"

With a final burst of speed, Axel leaned all the way forward and raced ahead, towards the oncoming waves the boat had left in its wake. Closing his eyes tight, Roxas screamed, holding on for dear life. This was it. He was going to die. He was going to die out in the middle of a lake in the middle of the freaking wilderness, all because he had agreed to go to a stupid birthday party.

Vaguely, Roxas felt his stomach plummet, and heard the momentary lapse of water rushing by them They were in the air. God help him, Axel had launched the stupid jet ski _completely out of the water._ Axel whooped in front of him and straightened up. _'Oh, he had better not have let go of the fucking steering bars.' _Roxas mentally threatened, cracking one eye open a fraction, just enough to peer at what Axel was doing. Yep. He'd let go of the fucking steering bars. They were going to die.

"AXEL! GET YOUR HANDS BACK ON THE – " was all Roxas managed to get out before they were crashing back down, Axel grabbing at the steering bars at the last minute and angling the jet ski so they didn't completely capsize it.

"WHOOHOOHOOOOOO!" He cheered, punching on hand in the air as the jet ski came to a stop, not noticing that Roxas was threatening to squeeze him in two with his grip. "Was that the best or was that the freaking BEST?!"

"Axel…"Roxas slowly ground out his words slightly muffled from having pressed his face into Axels back. Axel turned his head to look back at the blonde.

"Yes?"

"Take me back to shore. Now. Slowly. And by slowly, I mean under five miles an hour."

"Oh, come on!" Axel laughed. "You've gotta admit that was crazy amazing!"

"You've got one out of two." Roxas muttered.

"Aw, come on Roxas, it wasn't that bad!" Axel said. Lied, in Roxas's opinion. It _had_ been that bad. It had been _beyond_ that bad. At Roxas's lack of a response, his face still buried in Axel back, Axel took pity on his little blonde companion. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry for going a little crazy. I'll keep it under control from now on, promise. Let's just stay out here a bit longer, okay?"

Roxas braved looking up, seeing that Axel really did look a little sorry. Not much, but just a tiny little bit. "You promise?" he asked, not trusting the redhead one bit.

"Promise." Axel replied, crossing his finger over his chest.

"Fine then." Roxas said, loosening his death grip around Axel's waist. "Just a little longer. And nothing crazy."

"Right." Axel agreed, facing forward and revving the engine. ('_Why does he always have to do that?'_ Roxas wondered. _'It's not like it's __**necessary**__. Maybe he just wants to seem cool or something?'_)"Nice and slow."

Axel, true to his word, took off at a much more reasonable speed. Roxas relaxed a little, loosening his grip even more and scooting back a bit as he realized he practically had melded into the older teen's back during their launch. Sighing, Roxas turned his head to look out over the lake, enjoying the view now that he didn't have his eyes scrunched as tightly closed as they could go…

"WHOOPS!"

…and he was suddenly pitched off of the jet ski as Axel deliberately sped up and simultaneously made an extremely sharp turn.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Roxas hit the water with an enormous, slightly painful splash. Coughing as he resurfaced, he glanced up, only to see Axel hovering right over him, having pulled the jet ski right alongside his floundering, floating self.

"Sorry about that. Accident." Axel explained (_LIED!_) with a wide grin. "And you know, you really ought to get a handle on that whole 'screaming like a girl' thing. Need a hand back up?"

Roxas sent Axel the most intense death glare he had ever sent anyone in his life. And trust him, he had sent quite a few. Oh, he was going to accept that hand back up, alright. He was gonna get right back up on that jet ski with Axel.

And then he was going to kill him.

**.o.O.o.**

Whoo! Lakes are fun, yes? …Well, apparently not for Roxas, but whatever. XD I hoped you liked this chapter, it was fun for me to write! Jet skis are probably _the_ most amazingly chaotically fun water type things ever. EVER. Yay for cameo appearances by Cloud and Leon!


	4. Campfire Games

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: s'mores

Suggested beverage: whatever goes good with s'mores. Milk, maybe.

Suggested listening: Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) – Backstreet Boys

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 04: Campfire Games**

-o-

Roxas sat around the campfire, a towel wrapped securely around his shoulders, shivering slightly at the cold night air. After a long day at the lake they had all finally left as evening approached, wanting to get back to camp with enough light to fix dinner and make a campfire. Which was where Roxas had immediately seated himself, dripping wet and cold.

"Dinner!" Sora happily called out, approaching the fire with a plate of uncooked hotdogs.

"Um, Sora, those are raw." Roxas pointed out. No way was he eating uncooked meat. Ew.

"I know – that's what these are for!" Sora told him, brandishing a few pointy sticks. Roxas was confused. Were they just going to poke at the hot dogs for amusement or something? Riku saved him from asking and making a fool out of himself, however, by reaching forward and grabbing a hot dog and a stick, stabbing the wiener and sticking it over the fire. Ooooh. So they were going to cook them themselves. Got it.

Axel eagerly copied Riku, grabbing three or four hotdogs and stabbing them onto his stick, shishkabob style. Roxas hesitantly picked out a stick and pierced the hot dog on it, holding it into the flames. It was a little annoying having to wait while it cooked – Roxas was used to just being handed fully prepared hot dogs that he bought from wherever – but in the end it was worth it, even if his was a little underdone. He'd seen Axel actually catch his on fire and had wanted to avoid a similar fate for his.

Eventually, having had his fill of hotdogs, Roxas sat back, content and full. Nothing like food to make a long, frustrating day seem just a little bit better. Of course, leave it to Axel to ruin the fun of eating a classic campfire meal.

Roxas idly looked across the campfire, where Axel was finishing up his sixth and final hotdog. Honestly, where did that guy _put_ all that food? Noticing that Roxas was staring, Axel acquired a smirk, making a show of taking a huge bite out of his hotdog. Roxas, eyes wide with amazement for a second, then quickly sent a disgusted look Axel's way. It didn't seem to deter Axel though, who continued eating his hotdog with renewed vigour. Roxas wanted to stop watching but found it was rather like watching a train wreck – you wanted to look away, but you just couldn't.

"So!" Sora announced, whipping out a bag of marshmallows. Roxas was finally able to snap out of his Axel-eating-a-hotdog induced trance and tear his eyes away from the disturbingly captivating display before him. "Who's up for s'mores?"

"Mmmf! MMMF!" Axel waved his hands wildly, not able to coherently express himself through a mouthful of hotdog. Sora laughed and grabbed himself a few marshmallows, politely handing one to Roxas, before tossing the bag over to Axel, who immediately shoved his hand in the bag, grabbing one and jabbing it on the end of his stick, abruptly shoving it in the flames.

Instantly the marshmallow burst into flame, erupting into an impressive torch of sugar-y goodness. Roxas gasped as the flames grew rather threateningly out of control, turning the once fluffy marshmallow into a charred and shriveled mutant glob. "Um… Axel? You do know that your marshmallow is on – "

"BURN BABY BURN!"

Ah. So it seemed as though that was how Axel _wanted_ his marshmallow.

Pulling back the charred remains of his marshmallow, Axel proudly looked it over before shoving it in his mouth, stick and all. Roxas watched, wide eyed, as Axel then pulled out the stick, promptly spearing another marshmallow on the end of it and sticking it right back in the flames.

Roxas looked to his own marshmallow, which still looked about the same as when he had stuck it on his stick a minute ago.

Looking sideways, Roxas took in Sora's marshmallow, which had turned a nice shade of golden brown, and watched as he brunette took it and placed it in between two graham crackers with half a bar of chocolate.

Roxas again took in his own marshmallow. It still hadn't really done anything.

"Roxas, I think you're holding your marshmallow a little too far away from the fire." Riku helpfully suggested.

Roxas glared at him. Did Riku think he was some kind of marshmallow roasting expert or something? Huh? It's not like _his_ marshmallows were all that – OH MY GOD.

The blonde looked to Riku's marshmallows with something akin to horror. "Um… Riku? Uh… what's wrong with your marshmallows?"

Riku looked up at him, not seeming to understand. "What?"

Axel glanced up from torching another marshmallow to look at what Roxas was talking about. "Ahaha! Dude! Your marshmallows look like _balls_!"

And to put it bluntly, Axel was right. Riku had apparently left the marshmallows over the fire without turning them for too long and as a result they were sagging pretty badly, hanging heavy and loose on the stick, looking as though they were about to fall off.

"HAHA!" Sora burst. "Axel's right, Ri-ku! Your marshmallows _do_ look like balls!"

Riku looked down at his stick and smirked. Roxas got a weird twisting feeling in his stomach. No good could come from this. Riku smirking at roasted marshmallows that looked like balls just didn't sit well with him. Carefully, so as not to unsettle the testicle-esque marshmallows, Riku pulled his stick towards himself, lifting it so that his saggy marshmallows were level with his face. Slowly he leaned forward and licked one.

"EEEEEEEEWWWW!" Sora squealed, giggling. Axel smirked. Roxas…

Roxas really couldn't put his finger on what emotion watching Riku lick a testicle marshmallow evoked in him. He just kind of sat in numb shock, completely and utterly at a loss for words.

Seemingly pleased by everyone's reactions, Riku took the act a step further, tentatively taking one of his creations between his lips and giving it a playful suck, complete with suggestive slurping sounds.

"OKAY." Roxas announced, standing up and setting his own slow roasting marshmallow aside. "I'm gonna go back to the tent and get changed. I'll… uh… be back."

Grabbing a flashlight from the nearby table, Roxas made the short trek back to his dilapidated tent, trying to push aside images of Riku and the phallic marshmallows. Unzipping and pushing open the door flap and crawling in, Roxas rummaged through his bags for some clothes to change into. He thought about getting into some regular day clothes, seeing as he was going to have to go back to the dirty campfire, but then figured he might as well just get into his pajamas now. They were already dirty from earlier that morning when he had left the tent in them and it would save him the embarrassment of having to get changed in front of Axel later. Pulling off his dirty pants and tossing them aside, Roxas pulled out his pajama pants, attempting to pull them on over his shoes but getting stuck halfway.

"Oh, come on!" He complained, tugging at them and losing his balance, falling into the pile of sleeping bags and blankets with a dull 'fwump'.

"Need some help?"

"Axel!" Roxas yelped, immediately grabbing for a blanket to cover himself with. "Gah, learn to knock or something!"

"Um, tent?" Axel reminded him, tapping at the stretched canvas.

"Whatever." Roxas snapped. "Learn to… otherwise announce your presence. What are you doing here anyways? I told you I'd be right back."

"Yeah." Axel said with a nod. "But I just wondered why you ran off so fast. Couldn't have anything to do with Riku's little display, could it? Mmm… Riku/marshmallows."

"GRAH!" Roxas shouted, grabbing Axel's pillow and chucking it at him. "Go away Axel! I'm getting changed and I'll be back in a minute!"

"Sure thing." Axel chuckled in reply, slipping out of the tent and scampering back off to the fire. Roxas silently seethed. What was he, five? Why did Axel feel the need to come check up on him like he was some little kid? Or maybe he'd just wanted an excuse to catch Roxas without his pants on, the pervert.

As promised, Roxas came back down to the campfire a few minutes later, dressed for bed but willing to stay up a while longer, even though, technically, he could have cashed in on his right to go to sleep – there were numerous stars out by now, after all. Picking up his cast aside marshmallow, Roxas went back to attempting to roast it.

"Roxas, you're still doing it wrong." Axel commented, and Roxas looked up to glare at the redhead. _Excuuuuuuuse _him if he didn't want his marshmallow torched to a crisp.

"This is how I want to do it." Roxas stubbornly insisted, his stick and marshmallow about a foot away from the fire.

"Yeah, but you've gotta get it closer to the flames." Axel persisted, lifting his own beacon of a marshmallow and shoving it towards Roxas's.

"NO! Axel! Let me do it my way!"

"But you'll never get it done that way!"

"Why do you care?"

"Just let me help!"

"Look, I already said I don't want your –"

_Whoosh!_

Roxas's marshmallow suddenly went up in flames as Axel's was held against it.

"AXEL!" Roxas shouted, instantly pulling his precious marshmallow on a stick back and attempting to blow it out. Failing drastically, Roxas tried to fan it off, only to have a flame surge angrily at him, licking at the sensitive skin of his finger. "OW, OW, OW, OW, OW!!!"

Dropping the marshmallow and stick entirely, Roxas frantically waved his hand, hoping that doing so would make the pain of the burn lessen. Again, it was a failed (although valiant) attempt, and he whimpered miserably, wondering if he ought to go run down to the creek and plunge his hand into the icy water.

Suddenly a grip around his wrist stopped his flailing and he looked up to see Axel intently examining his burnt finger. Still making pathetic, extremely un-manly little whimpers, Roxas wondered what he was going to do, vowing to smother him in the night if he made it any worse. Slowly Axel pulled Roxas's hand to his face, studying it for a moment before giving it a tentative lick.

Roxas quickly pulled his hand back as if it had been burned. …Again. "What the heck do you think you're doing?" Axel shrugged. Roxas gave him a suspicious look. Usually people didn't just go around licking other people's burnt fingers for no reason. Especially when the person doing the licking was the one responsible for the burn in the first place.

"I thought it might help." Axel explained with another shrug.

"Well it didn't." Roxas snapped. Although now that he thought about it, Axel's tongue _had_ been a little soothing… Oh well. He had more pride than to let some freak go around licking his burn fingers, however nice it may or may not have felt.

Axel made his way back around the fire pit to his seat, Riku watching him idly and Sora happily roasting another marshmallow, seemingly oblivious to the unwanted licking that had taken place. Prodding at the fire with his stick, Axel waited until the end of it had caught fire before pulling it out, gazing at it hypnotically as the small flame slowly died out, leaving just glowing orange embers in it's place. Carelessly he waved it in a circle.

_That _certainly caught Sora's attention. Like a mini light show, the glowing end of the stick left a trail of light behind it, delayed to the action Axel put it through. The result was a sort of trippy image of a perfect circle that flickered out a few seconds after Axel had completed it.

"OOOOOOOOOOH!" Sora awed, eyes wide. "Do that again!"

Smirking at Sora's innocent enthusiasm, Axel repeated the motion, forming more circles, squiggly lines, and words in cursive. The words were a bit harder, seeing as the glow would pretty much fade out from the beginning of the word by the time he got to the end of it, but the general point was made, and Sora seemed extremely impressed.

"More, more!" he insisted, jumping up and down in his seat. Riku adopted his 'I-am-on-guard-because-any-minute-now-Sora-is-going-to-get-out-of-control' face and Roxas gave a dismissive snort. Please. The whole glowy stick thing wasn't _that_ cool.

But Sora certainly seemed to think it was. "Make a smiley face!" he requested. "Make a fish! Make a flower! MAKE A PIKACHU!"

Axel was trying very hard to keep up with Sora's demands, his fun game quickly becoming a stressful job to tackle. Flailing his stick hand wildly, he attempted to draw out the happy little creature, only to find that it seemed to be a little too complex for his glowy stick.

"MAKE A PIKACHU, MAKE A PIKACHU!" Sora insisted.

Watching Axel flailing in his attempt to please Sora and meet his requests, Roxas smirked. No way was he ever going to be able to pull it off. Although… Roxas squinted, tilting his head to the side… if you looked at it _juuuust_ right, it actually kinda _did_ resemble the little yellow mousey creature. Just a little. But Roxas wasn't going to give Axel the satisfaction of telling him that.

"MAKE A PIKACHU, MAKE A PIKACHU!" Sora was still insisting.

"I… I can't!" Axel said, frantically waving his stick around.

"MAKE A PIKACHU, MAKE A PIKACHU, MAKE A PIKACHU!" Sora chanted, bouncing up and down. "MAKE A – "

Suddenly the stick went flying – right into Riku's pile of freshly chopped kindling.

"AAAAAH! FOREST FIRE!" Sora shouted, curling up into a little ball in his chair as Riku quickly made to get the still glowing stick out of his precious woodpile.

"Yay Riku!" Sora cheered as Riku sat back down, saving them all from a blazing, forest fire-y death. Quickly moving from his own seat, Sora curled up on the silver haired boy's lap like an affectionate cat. "You saved the forest!"

Looking across the fire at Axel, Roxas noticed that he looked a little miffed at the abrupt change in Sora's affections and attention. Apparently no matter how entertaining Axel might be for a short period of time, it always came back to Riku. _Haha!_ Roxas thought, rather meanly. _Take that, Axel! No one loves you. You're just good for entertainment purposes only._

For some reason, thinking this and looking at Axel's unhappy face at no longer being the center of attention made Roxas a little bit sad and guilty. He didn't know why, and it bothered him. "Well." He said, standing up. Everyone looked at him, having forgotten he was even there. "I'm going to bed."

Sora opened his mouth to protest, but Roxas gestured heavenwards, pointing out the multitude of stars that sparkled in the sky, more brightly than back home due to the lack of city lights and activity. Sora nodded, seeming to understand that everyone didn't have the same urge to stay up all night by the campfire that he did. Not everyone had rechargeable energy like him, making sleep a necessity. "Night Roxas."

No sooner had Roxas started up the path to the tent than he heard the footfall of someone following after him. Turning around to see what whoever it was wanted, Roxas came face to face with Axel.

"I figured I'd call it a night too." He explained. "I'd rather not sit through 'cuddle time with Sora and Riku' for another couple hours."

"Whatever." Roxas replied, turning and continuing on towards his destination. Arriving at the tent he pulled his shoes off, setting them outside as he crawled in, making a beeline for his sleeping bag.

"So." Axel began. _Oh, no…_ Roxas thought, groaning and shoving a pillow over his head _He wants to **talk**._ "You tired yet?"

"_No_." Roxas sarcastically answered, his voice sleepy and muffled by the pillow. "It's close to midnight and I've spend all day being tossed off of a jet ski by an insane freak. I'm wide awake and ready for action."

"Oh, okay good." Axel replied, and Roxas could just _feel_ that annoying grin being directed at him. "Me too."

"Axel, I was being _sarcastic_." Roxas informed him. "Are we gonna have to make up some sort of hand signal so that you can tell when I'm doing it?"

"Nah, that's okay." Axel happily responded. "Let's play a game."

Roxas rolled over, growling as he gave Axel a sleepy glare. "Axel, I don't think you understand. I don't want to play any more games. I want to go to sleep."

"Aw, come on!" Axel insisted, scooting closer and eagerly propping himself up on his side. "It's not a game where you have to actually do stuff. It's a talking game."

Despite his better judgment, Roxas was actually a little intrigued. Trying not to sound too interested, he slowly worked up a response. "…what kind of a game?"

Axel excitedly launched into an explanation, taking Roxas's question as an agreement to play. "Okay, so we both put up ten fingers, and then say things that we've never done. If the other person has done the thing that the other person says they haven't done, they have to put down a finger. And they have to say "finger down" so that the other person knows that they did it. Cause, you know, we can't really see because there are no lights in here. The first person to put down all of their fingers loses… or wins… maybe… I dunno, it kinda depends on how you look at it."

Roxas was a little confused by this explanation at first, but he eventually figured out how the game was supposed to work, even if the _point_ of it escaped him. Still not sure if he was willing to sit up and list things he'd never done with Axel in the middle of the night, he avoided agreeing to the game for the moment. "This sounds like some stupid game girls play at sleepovers." He commented.

Axel shrugged, a gesture that went mostly unnoticed, as it was nearly completely dark inside the tent – the only light being provided by the flickering lantern set outside a few feet away. "Probably. But it's still fun. And it can be kinda like a 'get-to-know-you' game."

"I don't necessarily want to get to know you." Roxas said. "I don't even like you very much. I'm just forced to share a tent with you."

Axel wasn't deterred by this in the least. "So? We can still play the game." He pointed out with a smile.

Roxas heaved a sigh. "You're not going to leave me alone until I play the stupid game with you, are you?"

"Nope!"

That's what Roxas had been afraid of. "Fine then. I'll play your stupid, girly game. But then you have to let me go to sleep."

"Okay!" Axel said brightly, scooting closer again. Roxas was kind of annoyed at his invasion of his personal space, but also felt a little bad that Axel seemed to be this needy for attention. Or maybe Axel just wanted to come off that way to annoy Roxas and get him to play with him. Either way, Roxas figured he'd be nice and indulge the redhead just this once. "You go first!"

"It's your game." Roxas said. "You go first."

"Yeah, but it's your first time playing." Axel countered. "You go first."

"I don't have anything." Roxas insisted.

They sat for a minute in silence, Sora and Riku's voices quietly drifting to them from the fire. Roxas hoped Axel's stupid game wasn't going to work and he was going to be able to just go to sleep. Just as Roxas was just about to suggest this, Axel spoke up.

"…I've never had sex on a rock."

"WHAT?" Roxas burst. "What the hell?"

Axel raised his hands in mock defense. "Hey, I'm just putting it out there."

Suddenly Roxas felt a little insulted. "Are you suggesting that I _have_?"

"No." Axel said. "I was just saying it."

"I thought the point of the game was to get the other person to get all their fingers down?" Roxas said.

"Well no one was saying anything." Axel pointed out.

"Fine." Roxas said, realizing that if he didn't start participating he'd have to put up with more of Axel's stupid, fake "I never's". Thinking on it for another minute, he finally contributed something to the game. "Okay, I have one… 'I never'… learned how to tie my shoes."

Instantly Axel burst out laughing. "HAHAHA, you never – ahahahaaaa, oh man, that's great! Whoo! Hahaha… But seriously…"

An angry and embarrassed flush covered Roxas's cheeks, hidden by the dark. "I wasn't joking."

Silence. Then…

"Are you kidding me?"

"No." Roxas huffed, starting to really hate this game. "I'm not."

There was a rustles of blankets and a quick zipping noise as Axel moved to open the tent's door flap, reaching out and grabbing one of Roxas's shoes, bringing it back in with him. Sure enough, there was a system of buckles and velco, but no laces. Axel began to annoyingly pull the velco apart and stick it back together, only to rip it back apart again. _Riiiiip. _"Wow. You really weren't kidding." _Riiiiiiiiiip._

"No." Roxas repeated, still rather embarrassed by his confession. "I wasn't. Get over it – it's your turn."

"Oh." _Riiiiiiip. _"Right." _Riiiiiiiiiiiiip._

"And quit playing with my shoe." Roxas added, grabbing the shoe and tossing it off to his side of the tent.

"Alright, well, finger down." Axel chuckled, obviously ready to go on with the game, now that he had confirmed Roxas's statement. "So… 'I've neeeeeever'… had a pet." He said, a good starter that usually was good for knocking out other players. Most people had had a pet at some point in their life. And sure enough…

"Finger down." Roxas grumbled. "I had a bunny when I was little."

Axel choked back the urge to laugh at Roxas again, not entirely successfully. Roxas was _reeeeeally_ starting to hate this game. It had a habit of making him admit embarrassing things. In order to divert the attention off of his embarrassing childhood, he posed another statement. "…'I never' lit anything on fire that I wasn't supposed to." He said, going on a hunch.

"Define 'not supposed to'." Axel countered.

"Something that wasn't specifically made to be lit on fire." Roxas clarified.

"Finger down." Axel said almost proudly, smirking before moving on. "Okay, 'I've never' worn girls clothing."

Roxas cringed. Curse those comfortably snug girls pants he had lying in his closet at home! But no way was he admitting to that. He'd just have to, um, lie. That's it. Lie your girly little pants off, Roxas! Unfortunately, his extended pause in confirming or denying was answer enough for Axel.

"HA!" he shouted, pointing dramatically. "I knew it! You just _scream_ emo. So tell me, pants, shirt, or something else?"

"Pants." Roxas gritted out, thoroughly disturbed by Axel's underlying meaning when he added 'something else'. There must be some way to get Axel back for this. "… 'I've never'… stolen anything."

"Hey!" Axel said, offended. "What makes you think I steal things?"

Roxas shrugged, smirking a little. "Hey, if I scream 'emo', you scream 'troublemaker'." He replied.

It took a minute for Axel to respond. "Okay, fine. Finger down." He finally admitted. "But just so you know, it was always something stupid like those candy bars they have at the checkout isles of grocery stores or whatever... And most of the time it was a dare from my friends, anyways." He added for good measure, not that it redeemed him much in Roxas's eyes. "But 'I've never'… made one of those lame personal webpage things."

Roxas swore. "Finger down."

"I knew it." Axel smugly taunted.

"Shut up." Roxas snapped. "… 'I've never' spent more than half an hour on my apperance."

"Obviously." Axel happily snipped.

"SHUT UP!"

"Anyways, finger down. It takes a lot of hard work to look this good." Roxas rolled his eyes. "And would you believe, as sexy as I am, 'I've neeeeever'… made out with a guy!"

It was completely and utterly silent for a minute before the air was filled with Axel's uncontrollable laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAA!!! Oh man, got you again! Haha, that was almost as good as the sex on a rock one, eh Roxas? … Roxas??"

"Oh… Right." Came Roxas's small voice. "That one was a joke… ha ha." The blonde shifted uncomfortably. "So, uh, next question… 'I've never' –"

"Hold up a second." Axel cut in. Calculating where Roxas's face would be, Axel leaned in until he was about an inch away, seeing what little light there was reflecting in Roxas's wide eyes. "You're acting funny."

"No I'm not." Roxas insisted, scooting away. "Just let me do the next question."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaiiit a minute…" Axel said, catching on. "You're still weird about the last question, aren't you? And not in your usual 'Ewie, Axel! Gay stuff is gross!' kind of way, either. Spill it."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just trying to – "

"Let me repeat myself then, in case I wasn't clear the first time." Axel insisted with a smirk. "And this time you have to give a legitimate response. Roxas… 'I have never' made out with a guy."

Roxas gave a slight cough. "Um… finger down?"

"I KNEW IT!" Axel shouted triumphantly as he pounced, pinning Roxas down. "Now spill!"

Roxas shifted uncomfortably, not sure why he hadn't just lied. Probably because he'd never been a very good liar. And there was something about these kinds of 'late at night, have to tell the truth' games that just seemed so… legally binding. Roxas couldn't count how many embarrassing secrets he'd let out about himself during games of 'Truth or Dare'.

Squirming in Axel's hold, Roxas spoke up, knowing he was going to hate himself in a few minutes. "Uh… well… there's this guy, Seifer…" _That's right!_ Roxas thought _Pin it all on Seifer! It's HIS fault!_ "And he kinda always used to follow me around and pick on me and stuff… But, uh, one day he kinda… cornered me. Behind the school or something. And I backed into this wall and closed my eyes, thinking he was really going to lay into me or whatever… and… well… he kinda… tried shoving his tongue down my throat."

Axel let out a whoop, punching Roxas lightly in the shoulder. What the hell was that supposed to be? Some sort of 'You go, Roxas! Attaboy!' kind of gesture? "So did you kiss him back? Did you _liiiiiiike_ it?"

"God, Axel get off me!" Roxas said, shoving Axel off of him. "I did, but it wasn't because I wanted to or anything! I was in shock! Not to mention I was just thankful that I wasn't _dead_! I mean, I thought the guy was gonna knock me out or something!"

"And all he really wanted to do was knock you _up._" Axel said with a fake sigh, reveling in the romance.

"Gah, why do I bother telling you anything?" Roxas commented, mostly to himself. And never minding the fact that this was pretty much the first time he had really told Axel anything about himself, anyways. "But it's weird…" He continued, adopting a faraway tone of mixed dreaminess and confusion. "All those years I thought he was beating me up because he hated me…"

"…and all he ever wanted was to get into your pants." Axel finished, as though it was some conclusive moral to the end of a story. "The end."

Roxas glared at Axel, not appreciating his commentary. "Yeah, okay, that's it. I'm going to bed." He said, rolling over and pulling the covers up.

"Nooooo!" Axel whined. "Wait wait waaaaaaaait! We had such a good game going!"

"No we didn't." Roxas grumbled bitterly. "…Stupid game."

"Aw, come on! Rooooooooooooxas!"

"No Axel. Find someone else to play your dumb games with. I'm done."

Eventually Roxas did manage to get to sleep, but it was to the annoying background sounds of Axel's continued whining and pouting at him to play. And to think, this was only the second night of many more to come that he'd have to spend with that idiot freak and his stupid games.

**.o.O.o **

Ohoho, Seifer/Roxas. Haha, sorry, I just had to stick it in there. Seifer is AMAZING. But unfortunately, not a big part in this story. Sad face. Oh well! We got to learn some fun stuff about Axel and Roxas, didn't we kiddies? XD

…and just for the record, I suck at the 'ten fingers' game even more than Roxas. This part was so hard for me to write, because I can NEVER think of any good 'I never's.


	5. How To Get Lost

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: pre-packed lunch

Suggested beverage: juice box

Suggested listening: "It's Gotta Be You" – Backstreet Boys

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 05: How To Get Lost**

-o-

"Get up, get up, get up!" Sora's voice – extra loud in the silence of early morning – rang out, directly outside Roxas's tent. "It's today!"

Roxas groaned, rolling over. Why did Sora have to designate his "special" days with the greeting 'It's today!'? It really didn't make them sound too special. Every day was a today while it was happening.

Stretching and cracking hid back, Roxas yawned, figuring he'd better just get up now, before Sora's chattering grew any louder, or more ridiculous. Rubbing at his eyes, Roxas sat up, looking around the tent. Masses of blankets and food and junk were strewn about, turning their tent into some sort of freaky, jumble next of typical manly carelessness. Roxas was torn between disgusted and thoroughly impressed. Grabbing a sweatshirt to pull on over his pajamas, Roxas stifled another yawn, disentangling himself from his sleeping bag.

"Mmmmnnn… make 'im shut up." Axel murmured over on the other side of the small enclosure, burying his face in his pillow. Roxas wasn't sure if he was entirely awake or not, but it seemed as though it was too early for him to be enjoying sharing in Sora's annoyingness. Slipping out of the tent, Roxas was surprised to see Riku taking down his and Sora's tent at the other end of camp.

"Um, Sora?"

"Yes!" Sora chirped, all to happy to come bounding over to Roxas to talk to him. Riku had told him to keep away while he dismantled the tent.

"Why is Riku taking down your tent? Don't you… you know… kinda need it?"

"Of course we need it!" Sora confirmed. "That's why we're taking it down!" Roxas was confused. "Today's the day we start heading to…" Here Sora dropped his voice to a conspiring whisper. "Magic Lake!"

Oh. Right. Sora's little secret camping spot that this whole trip was about in the first place. Roxas had nearly forgotten.

"You guys need to start working on taking yours down too!" Sora informed him. "It's a two day hike to get there so we're leaving as soon as we can! Why don't you go wake up Axel and start right away!"

Right, because _that's_ how Roxas wanted to start off his day – by dealing with an early morning Axel, who probably hadn't gotten very much sleep last night, staying up and playing stupid sleepover games with himself. Roxas sincerely hoped he'd forgotten about last night's late night Seifer confession.

With a sigh, Roxas went back into the tent, kneeling down at the side of the foot of Axel's makeshift bed and wondering how to best approach this. "Axel." He said, prodding at the other male's arm, which was flopped across the floor. "Hey Axel."

"Nnnnnnnmmmmff!" Axel grumbled, turning over.

"No, Axel!" Roxas said, growing a bit exasperated as he moved over the sleeping male, shaking him. Why did the redhead have to make _everything_ so difficult? "Axel, come on, you have to get up!"

"Nyeah!" Axel indignantly responded, swiping at Roxas and effectively slapping him across the face. It wasn't very hard, but it was enough to make Roxas decide to quit with the 'Mr. Nice Guy' routine.

"Axel, you lazy idiot! Get your ass out of this bed right now!" he ordered, punching Axel in the shoulder, hard.

Axel growled, and before Roxas realized what was happening, had gripped him by the arm, dragging him down and pulling the blonde flush up against him. With a startled squeak, Roxas tried to struggle away, but in vain. _Oh come on! What kind of an idiot grabs and freaking **cuddles**__something that just hit them!?_ his brain protested.

"Oh hey Roxas I forgot to tell you that – AW!" with a blinding flash, Roxas knew that Sora had snapped another picture of them in yet another compromising and highly embarrassing situation. "Is this how you guys sleep?"

"NO THIS IS NOT HOW WE SLEEP!" Roxas shouted, struggling with renewed vigour. All the jostling and yelling finally had to have an effect on Axel, who blinked his eyes open, staring down at the blonde in his arms.

"Why good morning too you too, Roxie!" he gushed, affectionately nuzzling Roxas's squirming form.

"Get off me!" Roxas yelled, elbowing Axel in the gut and causing the redhead to release him with a pained grunt. Standing up and stalking out of the tent Roxas called back to Sora. "_You_ tell him whatever it is he needs to do. _I_ am going to have a nice, calm, breakfast and savour my first meal of the day _without_ having to deal with _him._"

**.x.X.x.**

"Okay!" Sora said, as everyone stood around him, backpacks full to bursting. "Everyone has their backpacks, right? We're leaving everything else in the van and locking it up. So what we've got in our packs is all we're gonna have for the next week, because that's all we're taking with us to Magic Lake."

Roxas felt uneasy about this. Even though they all had big packs, he was just a little uncomfortable with the fact that they were leaving _everything_ else behind. What if they needed something? What if they got lost in the woods and all they had with them was whatever they had managed to shove in their bags? What if –

"It's only a two day hike, and we're gonna follow a path through the woods to get there. The path gets a little hard to find at times, but it runs pretty close to the creek, so if worst comes to worst and we get lost or someone gets separated or something, just head to the creek and follow it – it'll lead straight to the lake. Not a lot of people know it, but Magic Lake's the water source responsible for this dinky lil' creek."

Here Sora paused to look around at their campsite one last time. Roxas fought the urge to whimper and run off and lock himself in the van with all their excess stuff, refusing to leave. Although far from sophisticated, this little campsite was the closest they were going to be to civilization for the next week.

"Anyways, let's get going, right!?" Sora brightly said, starting off to the edge of where the scattered campgrounds stopped and the wilderness began. With a definite sense of foreboding, Roxas followed after him.

The hike was severely uneventful as they got so deep into the forest that all there was to experience was the surrounding trees. Roxas's mind started to wander, trying to keep himself occupied. After a while, Roxas started getting a little paranoid about being the last person in their line as they followed the narrow path. Wasn't the last person in line the first person to get picked off by wild animals? Picking up the pace a little, Roxas scanned the surrounding forest, searching for any signs of things that might want to eat him.

So focused on looking out for wild animals, Roxas wasn't paying attention to what was directly ahead of him and, as a result, found himself crashing right into Axel's pack. Axel turned his head, wondering why Roxas had crashed into him.

"You okay back there?"

"I'm fine." Roxas responded, a little too quickly.

"You sure?" Axel smirked, catching Roxas's paranoid scanning of the underbrush. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"No." Roxas indignantly replied, scowling at the boy ahead of him.

"Okay, good." Axel said. "Cause I know I sure would be if I was at the end of the line. That's who the mountain lions always pick off first. Right before they go for the weak, little ones. And, well, seeing as you're both…"

"Shut up!" Roxas snapped, following so closely behind Axel at this point that if the taller male was to suddenly stop, Roxas would be getting a face full of Axel pack. "I am not weak or little."

"Whatever you say." Axel patronizingly responded.

Roxas snorted. "Just because _you_ don't have to worry about anything eating you, seeing as how you're so freaking skinny!" By this point the redhead had turned around completely, walking backwards to more effectively taunt Roxas.

"Why, Roxas, I had no idea you even noticed. I'm flattered." Axel placed his hand on his hip, jutting it out to more effectively show off his figure. "I'll be thinking of that when a grizzly bear is chowing down on all of your cute baby fat." Here he winked, causing Roxas to flinch. He hated when people winked.

"Shut up, Axel. It doesn't matter anyways; no one is going to get eaten. Besides, there's no wild animals around here." He added, mostly to comfort himself. Really, he had no grasp on the wildlife situation of the Hundred Acre Woods National Forest area.

"Oh really?" Axel smirked. "That's weird, cause I could have sworn I saw some pretty big animal bones back there a little ways, and I'm guessing it would have taken something pretty big to take something that size down and – "

"ARGH! SHUT UP, AXEL!" Roxas shouted.

Axel raised his hands in self defense. "Hey, I'm just saying!"

"Well DON'T!" Roxas snapped, pushing the other male aside and making to move up a spot in line. Suddenly he stopped. There was no line. The only thing in front of Axel was scattered bushes and trees. "Axel…" Roxas began slowly. "Were you paying attention to where you were going?"

"Sure." Axel responded. "I just turned around for a second to… Uh oh."

"… 'Uh oh'? _'UH OH'?!_ Axel, you… THIS IS ABOVE AND BEYOND 'UH OH'! WE'RE LOST IN THE FREAKING WOODS!"

"I'm sure it's not that bad…" Axel assured him, looking around. We can't be too far off the path… I'm sure Sora and Riku are right around here somewhere…"

However after a thorough, quarter of an hour search of the area, it appeared as though Sora and Riku were _not_ anywhere right around there. Or, in fact, _anywhere_ nearby at all.

"Great." Roxas said, slumping to the ground. "We're lost. Totally and completely lost in the middle of the freaking woods. I hope you're happy Axel."

"What?" Axel questioned. "How is this my fault?"

"How is this _not_ your fault?" Roxas grumbled. Standing up with a sigh, he turned towards where they could hear the creek running off to their side. "Well, since we're LOST now, we're gonna have to follow the creek like Sora said."

"Alrighty." Axel said, in a far better mood than Roxas found appropriate for the situation. They were lost in the woods for crying out loud! Making their way through the trees, Roxas scrambled down a ledge to the creek bed. Placing his hands on his hips the looked the area over. The water part of the creek was small, with most of the bed filled with rocks and boulders that they would have to climb over, but it was better than tromping through the woods, getting themselves even more lost, and away from their only source of guidance.

"So." Axel said, coming up behind Roxas. "Where to?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You heard Sora. If we got lost we're supposed to follow the creek. I'd think that makes it pretty clear." Axel shrugged. Sighing, Roxas started up the creek, not looking forward to spending an entire two days alone with an annoying redhead.

**.x.X.x.**

Roxas ground his teeth, focusing intently on the rocks he was navigating in an attempt to occupy himself with thoughts that didn't include murdering Axel. Because, as he kept reminding himself, no matter how annoying Axel was being, he still needed him. Kind of like how the pioneers needed mules. After all, Axel _was_ carrying half of their stuff.

"… and so then I suggested to him that maybe if we just sort of, you know, took a lighter to it –"

"Axel, will you please stop talking?" Roxas groaned. For the last couple of hours Axel had been jabbering nonstop. That in itself wouldn't have even been so bad, usually Roxas could just block it out, but it seemed that the stupider Axel's stories got, the harder it became to block them out. And by this point it was impossible for Roxas to stop listening. Vaguely, he wondered if he had some sort of unconscious masochistic tendencies.

"I'm hungry." Axel suddenly announced. Roxas would have snapped at him that he just told him to shut up, but he realized that he was getting hungry too. After all, they'd been hiking for hours and hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast.

"Fine." Roxas said, stopping. "We can stop and eat something."

Axel happily took off his pack, plopping it down and ripping it open. After a second, however, a distraught expression came over his face, and he looked up at Roxas with wide eyes. "I don't have the food." He said, he said in a voice so calm Roxas just knew his brain was shutting down, probably to gather up enough energy to then completely freak out. "This morning… when I was packing… Sora gave me the collapsible stove and cooking utensils and said that he and Riku would handle the food…. ROXAS! WHY AREN'T YOU FREAKING OUT?! WE'RE GONNA STARVE!!! OH, THE IRONY! WE HAVE ALL THE STUFF TO MAKE THE FOOD, BUT SORA AND RIKU HAVE ALL THE FOOD ITSELF!"

Roxas shifted, looking slightly embarrassed. "Uh… Sora and Riku don't have _all_ the food."

Axel tilted his head to the side, giving Roxas a questioning look. "They don't?"

"Uh… no." Roxas admitted, looking guilty as he un-zipped his pack. "I kinda brought some of my own." Inside the pack were, yes, the normal things that one would expect to find in a backpacking bag, but most of the bag was stuffed full of snacks that Roxas had expertly crammed in, in case of an emergency. Such as the one there were currently in, thanks to a fiery haired idiot.

"FOOD!" Axel shouted, lunging at Roxas's bag. The blonde quickly pulled back, possessively clutching at his pack.

"Hey, hey! This is _my_ food, and I'm not letting you just dig in like some sort of rabid, starving raccoon!" Roxas chided, smacking Axel's hands away.

"Come on, Roxas!" Axel whined, attempting to give Roxas a puppy face to earn his food. Roxas was not swayed. "Sharing is caring!"

"I never said I wouldn't share." Roxas told him. "I just don't want to let you dig in, or the next thing I know there'll be none left."

"Are you calling me fat?" Axel question, placing his hands on his hips and looking offended.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "No, but I've seen how you eat." He responded. "And it's a wonder you're not. _I'm_ going to be the one in charge of rationing out our food."

"Fine." Axel pouted, sitting down on a rock and waiting for Roxas to hand him some food. Roxas inwardly suppressed great pleasure in having control over Axel. Being in charge of the food, (_And therefore Axel's life or death._ Roxas reasoned) gave him a feeling of power that he rather liked. Was that unhealthy? Probably, but Roxas still indulged himself in getting a sick kick out of it.

"Here you go." He said, handing Axel a packaged lunch and juice bottle. Axel ravenously grabbed at it, ripped it open and set about eating. Getting out something for himself, Roxas sat down as well, just starting in on his lunch as Axel finished his with a long swig of his drink. Wide eyed, he stared at Axel.

"Well that was good." Axel stated, sneaking a look at Roxas's bag as if he was considering rooting around for more food. Roxas scooted it a little closer to himself. Axel pouted and sat for a while in silence, much to Roxas's enjoyment. "It's hot." He said after a minute. "I'm taking my shirt off."

"You do that." Roxas replied, not even looking up from his lunch and wondering why Axel felt so compelled to fill him in on every little detail on what he was doing or thinking.

After Roxas finished his lunch he looked up to see Axel fidgeting with a stick, poking it in some nearby bushes. That kid was like a living A.D.D parade. Couldn't he ever sit still for a few minutes?

Not finding the urge to keep going just yet, Roxas sat on his rock, watching Axel poke his bush for a few more minutes. "You know, you're going to burn if you don't put your shirt back on." Roxas commented.

"I'm fine." Axel replied, looking up from his bush poking, a sly smile coming to his lips. "Unless of course you want to put some sunscreen on me…?"

Roxas sent Axel a dry glare. "No." Axel shrugged.

"Fine then. But I'm not putting my shirt back on. Besides, you know you like it."

"Do not." Roxas shot back, giving Axel a once over. For… confirmation purposes. Right. Didn't see anything he liked. Nope. Not one thing.

"So then." Axel continued, standing up. "I guess we better get going." Roxas stood as well, pulling on his pack. "But first I gotta go pee."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at Axel. "Thanks for sharing." Actually, come to think of it, he kinda had to pee too. Watching as Axel scrambled up out of the shallow creek bed, Roxas followed after him, wondering where he was going.

"Axel, what are you doing? We have to stay in the creek."

"Yeah, I know." Axel said. "But first I have to go pee. And the unwritten guy code dictates that when in the woods, you have to pee on a tree. There were no trees in the creek, so I had to climb up here to get one." To finish his statement, Axel unzipped his pants with flourish.

Roxas's eye twitched. "Um, Axel, don't do that right in front of me."

"Why not?" Axel asked, hands pausing in his pants. "We're both guys, we've been in public restrooms before. Nothing we haven't seen before."

"Yeah, well… I'm gonna go over there." Roxas said, pointing. "I'll be back in a sec."

"No way, man!" Axel said. Roxas was uncomfortable with his pants open the way they were. It was nothing too drastic, but it just seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. "If you wander off you could get lost and we can't afford to get separated. Pull up a tree." He concluded, gesturing to a pine a few feet away.

"No." Roxas insisted. "I'm just going right over there for a second. I'm not going to get lost. Have a nice pee."

Wandering off a few yards and making sure to pick a tree behind some bushes, Roxas did a quick side to side scan for any wild animals and/or perverts that may want to take advantage of the fact that he had his pants down and eat and/or molest him. Judging that the coast was clear, Roxas unzipped and was about to go about his business when someone's head dropped and rested on his shoulder and a voice spoke up not an inch away from his ear.

"How's it goin'?"

Roxas screamed. "ARGH! AXEL!" Quickly blushing and zipping up his pants, Roxas turned to face the other male. "What the hell?! You don't just sneak up behind someone when they're peeing and ask how it's going!"

"Well you were gone for a little too long and I couldn't see you so I decided to check up on you."

"Well I'm fine!" Roxas assured him. "Now go away!"

"You know it doesn't take that long to pee." Axel said, crossing his arms and leaning up against a nearby tree.

"Well I can't pee under pressure." Roxas snapped, finding the whole situation highly embarrassing. "So just go back down to the creek and I'll be there in just a second."

"Fine." Axel huffed. "But if you get eaten by wild animals while your guard was down, don't say I didn't try to prevent it."

Roxas wanted to point out that if he got eaten by wild animals he wouldn't be saying much of _anything,_ but Axel was already making his way down into the creek bed. Grumbling to himself, Roxas re-unzipped and went about his business, joining Axel a few moments later.

"All peed out and ready to go?" Axel asked with a grin.

"Ha ha ha." Roxas replied, no humour in his voice as he took the lead, making his way up the creek bed.

They walked for hours, Axel starting out strong, jabbering on about whatever made it's way into his head, Roxas mostly silent, trying not to listen. But after a while, even Axel started getting a bit worn out, and his banter trailed off as the two boys made their way in silence. Roxas was glad for the change.

"Hey Roxas?" Axel asked as it started to get towards evening. "Maybe we should call it a day? It's gonna get dark soon and we need to set up our tent and make a fire and stuff.

With a sigh, Roxas stopped, turning around and looking Axel over. The guy was looking exhausted, and dirty – even the tips of his flaming red spikes were starting to droop a little. Roxas knew he couldn't be looking much better, himself.

"Yeah, alright." He relented. "I'll set up the tent if you can go grab some firewood." Axel grinned and nodded, frolicking up out of the creek bed to gather up some kindling from the surrounding trees. "And don't go too far!" Roxas called out after him.

"Oh, don't worry about losing me." Axel called back, and Roxas could hear the amusement in his voice. "You'll know where I am!"

A puzzled expression crossed Roxas's face. "What does he mean by that?" He murmured to himself.

"BA-BAY! IT'S THE WAY YOU MAKE ME! KINDA GET ME GO CRA-ZAY! NEVER WANNA STOP!"

_Oh God…_ Roxas realized. _He's gonna **sing**._

Trying to block out the annoying singing, Roxas went to work getting the tent off of the side strap on his pack, pulling it out of the tent slip and making quick work of setting it up. It was a small, easy-up tent that would normally only take about five minutes to set up, but thanks to the one set of dilapidated poles, he had a bit of a struggle getting it set up exactly the way it was supposed to be.

"IT'S GOTTA BE YOU! UH-HUH, UH-HUH! ALL THE WAY!" Axel sang, coming down with his arms full of wood. "IT'S GOTTA BE YOU! UH-HUH, UH-HUH! EVERY DAY!"

"Axel, cut it out. I can see you know. I know where you are."

"Yeah, I know." Axel replied, grinning, looking down at his gathered wood. "I just like to – AH! SPIDER!" Dropping his firewood unceremoniously, Axel furiously brushed at his arms and chest. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, going back to securing the last stake in the tent. Apparently convinced that he was now spider free, Axel gathered up the wood again, carrying it over to a cleared out patch of dirt, dropping them into a pile. "Do you think we need any more than this?"

Looking the pile over, the blonde decided they'd batter be safe than sorry. "Um, maybe. I guess we could go get some more real quick before it gets too dark." Following after Axel, Roxas climbed up the slope to the trees.

"I PROMISE YOU, I WILL BE TRUE TO YOU – "

"And you don't have to sing this time. Really. I'm right here."

After having gathered enough firewood, Axel and Roxas went back down to camp, setting up a couple of logs before striking upon a problem. "Hey Roxas, did you bring any matches?"

"Oh, shoot! No! Do you know how to start a fire without them?"

"No." Axel admitted, digging in his pockets. "But who cares?" Pulling out a lighter, Axel flicked it, lighting some of the twigs and pinecones they had settled under the larger logs as kindling. Roxas should have figured. Of _course_ Axel would have a lighter. The freak.

Shivering a little, Roxas dug into his pack, pulling out a sweatshirt. Looking over at Axel, he realized the other male had yet to even put his shirt back on. "Axel, aren't you freezing?" Roxas asked. Not that he cared or anything. He just wondered how someone with so little body fat could possibly retain any sort of heat at night.

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Axel said, as if he had just noticed that he was half naked and it was nearly dark out. Attempting to pull a shirt back on, Axel suddenly hissed in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Roxas smirked, realization dawning on him. "Sunburn?"

"Yes." Axel snapped. "Ow, it burns."

"Well you shouldn't have been walking around all day with no shirt or sunscreen on." Roxas chided.

"I didn't _bring_ any sunscreen." Axel informed him, wincing a little as the shirt fabric rubbed against his delicate skin. Roxas took pity on him and dug around in his bag, pulling out a tube and tossing it to Axel.

"Here."

"What is it?" Axel asked, trying to make out the label.

"Aloe Vera." Roxas told him. "Just put some on – it'll help."

Cringing a little as he peeled off his shirt, Axel took a dab of the cream, spreading it on his hands and attempting to spread it on his skin. With a curse, he pulled away. "Ow! Damn, I can't do it."

"Why on earth not?" Roxas asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

"It hurts."

"Well, it'll hurt even more if you don't put it on." Roxas told him, pulling some food out of his bag and tossing some over to Axel. Grabbing the lantern off of Axel's pack, he carefully turned it on, setting it on a nearby tree stump so they could have a little more light. Axel pouted, setting down by the fire and eating his makeshift dinner.

After a while, Axel's whimpering started to annoy Roxas. "Axel!" he snapped. "Stop wanking about your sunburn if you're not even going to put the aloe vera on it."

"Well it hurts." Axel stubbornly insisted.

"So put the stuff on it."

"But that hurts more!"

"Well not putting it on and leaving it the way it is is gonna hurt the most!"

"Well I'm not putting it on." Axel said, sticking out his tongue.

"Oh, what are you, like two years old? Come on, Axel, just put the damn cream on so I don't have to hear you whine about your stupid sunburn all night."

"But it – "

"Fine then!" Roxas decided, standing up and yanking Axel to his feet, grabbing the tube. "In that case _I'm_ going to do it. Because I refuse to listen to you whining and whimpering and keeping me up all night."

Twisting open the top and squeezing a generous amount of the cream into his hands, Roxas reached out to wipe it across Axel's shoulders which seemed to have been the most badly burnt.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Axel complained, but Roxas couldn't help but notice that he wasn't as adamant about it as before when he had been putting it on himself. Rubbing it in, Roxas heard Axel making muffled little noises, although he couldn't tell if they were ones of pain or not. They sounded funny, but not like the kinds of sounds he would have expected Axel to be making if he had been hurting him. Deciding to ignore it, and satisfied with his job on Axel's shoulders, Roxas squeezed out another gob of the cream, swiping it over Axel's chest, which was also looking pretty red.

"Ah! Roxas!"

Wide eyed, Roxas looked up. Had he accidentally hurt Axel? "Sorry, did that hurt?"

"Um, yeah." Axel responded, looking flushed. "But it's okay."

"Alright…" Roxas replied, suddenly very aware of their close proximity, and the fact that he was running his hands all over Axel's chest, rubbing the lotion in. Gulping, he felt a little flushed, himself. Well this was embarrassing.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes nearby, and Roxas looked over his shoulder, hands frozen on Axel's chest. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Axel asked.

Frowning, Roxas turned back around, continuing to make sure the cream was properly rubbed in. "Nevermind." But a minute later he heard the rustling again, this time much louder and closer.

"Okay, what was that?" Roxas asked again, this time turning around completely, shaking a little. "I know I heard something."

"It's probably nothing." Axel assured him, grabbing a wrist and dragging Roxas's hand back to his chest.

"Alright…" Roxas said, on edge. Glancing from side to side nervously, not even noticing that there wasn't really any more aloe vera for him to be rubbing into Axel's chest.

The rustling grew more pronounced, a couple twigs snapping ominously.

"What the hell _is_ that?" Roxas asked, his voice cracking. This time Axel couldn't feign ignorance, because the sounds continued, growing closer every second. Roxas started hyperventilating, slight whimpers escaping his lips as he pressed himself against Axel.

"Uh… don't worry." Axel said reassuringly, patting Roxas's blonde spikes. "I'm sure it's nothing… Just a um… like a, uh…"

Suddenly the bushes right in front rustled furiously, branches snapping as something crashed through them, right out into their clearing.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Both Roxas and Axel screamed, clutching eachother in a desperate need to feel protected. "WE'RE GONNA DIE, GONNA DIE, GONNA DIE!" Roxas chanted, closing his eyes and burying his face in Axel's chest.

"OH MY GOD, ROXAS IT'S A…" Axel suddenly trailed off, dead silence filling the clearing.

With a pathetic little whimper, Roxas looked up, braving a look over his shoulder, one that would probably be his last and include a huge mouth full of rows and rows of sharp teeth.

What he saw instead, was almost even more shocking, simply for the fact that it was the last thing he would have expected to see.

"Roxas…" Axel continued from his previous statement that had gone unfinished. "It's a…It's a –"

"Deer." Roxas finished in a voice devoid of emotion. The creature stood before them, flicking its ears nervously, mesmerized by the illuminating light of the lantern.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Axel suddenly burst, doubling over and scaring the animal off. "Hahaha…haha…ha, oh man. Roxas, you just screamed like a freaking girl over a fucking _DEER_!"

Roxas glowered at him, vowing to kill the other male in his sleep. "You screamed too!" he pointed out. "And besides, I didn't know it was a deer, otherwise I wouldn't have freaked out!"

"Hahaha… wow. That's freaking _priceless._" Axel laughed.

"Grrrr… shut up!" Roxas snapped, punching Axel in the arm. The redhead didn't seem to notice.

"Rrrrrrrrrrrroxas is afraid of Bambi!"

"Hey, that thing was not Bambi!" Roxas defended. "It was big and it had horns! It _could_ have posed a threat!"

"Haha, whatever you say, Roxas!" Axel laughed, still amused.

"Urgh, I'm going to bed." Roxas announced, grabbing his sleeping bag and blankets and heading for the tent. Kicking off his shoes and angrily unzipping the flap he climbed in.

"Aw, no, Roxas come on!" Axel called after him, grabbing his stuff and following. "I'm just teasing you!"

"Well it's not funny." Roxas told him, huffily unfurling his sleeping bag and climbing in, not even bothering to change out of his clothes.

"Come on, you've gotta admit it's just a little bit funny!" Axel insisted.

"No I don't. Because it wasn't."

Axel sighed, pulling his pants off and tossing them aside. "Fine. I'm sorry for teasing you." He said by way of apology.

"Whatever." Roxas replied, looking peeking his head our from under the covers to glare at Axel, only to see him in nothing but his boxers. Blushing lightly, and thankful that it was so dark out, Roxas spoke up. "Um… Axel, aren't you going to put some more clothes on?"

"Of course not." Axel replied, like Roxas must have been crazy for even suggesting it. "Why would I?"

"Um, because it's freaking _freezing_ at night?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So." Roxas sighed, unable to believe he was actually having to explain this. "It makes sense that the colder it gets the more clothes you put on, not take off."

Axel slipped into his sleeping bag, shaking his head. "Yeah, but everyone knows that with good sleeping bags the less clothes you have on, the warmer they keep you."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Roxas told him.

"Fine then." Axel quipped. "Keep all your ridiculous layers of clothes on. But I'll be the one who's sexy and warm. Goodnight."

Watching Axel roll over, Roxas grumbled to himself. What a freak. His logic made no sense at all. The fewer clothes you put on, the _warmer_ you were? Please. Maybe in the crazy, alternate universe where Axel was from that made sense, but in the real world there was obviously no truth to it. Roxas suppressed a shudder, pulling the blankets closer to him. Was it just him, or was it colder out than usual tonight?

After thinking about it for a minute, shivering almost violently, Roxas very stealthily began pulling his clothes off until he was left in just his boxers. At first he was even colder than before, but after a second, just as he was about to grab his sweatshirt and put it back on, vowing to never listen to another thing Axel said as long as he lived, he noticed that it actually wasn't so bad. Not bad at all… In fact…

Setting his jacket aside, Roxas snuggled back down, pushing the blankets off a little bit; missing the smile that made it's way onto Axel's lips on the other side of the tent as he fell asleep.

**.o.O.o.**

Separated from the herd, Roxas! Like a little sheepie who doesn't know the big bad _perverted_ wolf is RIGHT THERE!! Ahahaha! We all just _know_ this is gonna be good. … Well, provided they don't kill eachother, that is. XD

The sleeping bag tip is true, by the way. I swear!

Will Axel and Roxas survive the wilderness, with only their backpacks, their brains, and the power of their LOVE to aide them? Tune in next time, in the continuing adventures of Emo Kid and That Annoying Redhead Guy! (aka Axel and Roxas XD)


	6. Still Lost

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: pre-packed lunch

Suggested beverage: creek water

Suggested listening: "Drowning" – Backstreet Boys

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 06: Still Lost**

-o-

"Mmmmmn…" Roxas murmured in his sleep, pleasantly warm and content with the heavy, but not uncomfortable, weight on his chest. Stirring slightly as he started to get further and further from his happy little dreamland, he became more and more aware of the fact that something was definitely on him, and, as far as he remembered, he didn't think anything should be. Sleepily blinking his eyes open, he was met with Axel's widely grinning face no more than mere inches away from his own.

"Morning Sunshine!"

"AAAAARGH! AXEL! YOU FREAK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! GET OFF ME!" Struggling, Roxas managed to shove Axel off of him, quickly scooting up into a sitting position so as to be less vulnerable.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he teased, reaching out and poking Roxas's bare chest. "Sleep well?" Roxas immediately grabbed for some blankets, clutching them to his chest and glaring at Axel, blushing lightly in embarrassment.

"Get away from me you freaky pervert!" Roxas told him. "And put some clothes on!"

"You're one to talk." Axel smirked. He was obviously taking great pleasure in the fact that Roxas had followed his suggestion on how to stay warmer in his sleeping bag at night. Grumbling, Roxas pulled his clothes on, struggling to get changed under the sleeping bag, despite Axel's comments to not "be such a girl about it". No way was he letting Axel see him nearly naked of his own free will.

After a quick breakfast, the two packed their stuff up, once again facing a day of hiking up the creek, jumping from rock to rock to cross over the water. Hopefully, however, they could reach Magic Lake by nightfall and all the extra effort they had to put out as a result of getting lost would be worth it, and they could spend the rest of their trip relaxing, not worrying about being stranded in the woods.

"Let's play a game!" Axel suddenly suggested as he hopped over a rock.

"No." Roxas firmly replied. "I refuse to play any more of your stupid games."

"Aw, come on!" Axel pleaded. "It'll be a better one this time!"

"No."

For a minute there was silence, and Roxas actually thought that Axel had decided to stop bugging him. Of course, he must have been having a severe mental lapse, or else be experiencing an extreme bout of hopefulness that reached beyond this world to have thought this, but nevertheless, for one brief, shining moment, Roxas thought he would be spared Axel's annoyance, at least for a little while. Oh how wrong he was.

"I spy…" Axel began, grinning. "With my little eye… something… green!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, unable to keep from answering. Honestly, Axel was such an obvious idiot. He might even be able to give Sora a run for his money. "Tree."

"Aww…" Axel pouted. "You got it on your first guess… Oh well! Your turn!"

"Oh no!" Roxas said, spinning on his heel and giving Axel a warning look. "Just because I guessed your stupid little 'eye spy' doesn't mean I'm automatically in the game!"

"Yes it does!" Axel insisted. "Come on! You have to do at least one! Come on, come on, come on!"

"Fine!" Roxas said, turning back around and refusing to look like he was enjoying the game, even in the least. Again with the giving in just to end the annoying persisting. "I spy with my little eye, something with freaky red hair, stupid tattoos and an annoying personality."

Axel thought about it for a minute. "Me!" he answered cheerfully, not sounding insulted in the least. "Okay, my turn! I spy, with my little eye…"

They carried on like that for a while, Axel 'spying' stupidly obvious things, and Roxas either unable to help blurting out the answer because it was so dumb and obvious, or flat-out refusing to dignify him with a response.

"Okay, okay, one more!" Axel eagerly said, nearly tripping over himself as he lost his footing on a loose rock, sending his shoe into the water with a wet 'sploosh'. "I spy with my little eye –"

"The creek." Roxas cut in.

"Aww… how'd you guess?" Axel pouted. "I hadn't even given the clue yet…"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "No, Axel, I wasn't playing the game. Look at the creek. Seriously."

Axel did, and he immediately stiffened, looking a tad fidgety. The creek had been growing wider and wider all morning, slowly turning into more and more creek, and less and less creek _bed_. At the same time, the sides grew from sloping little rises to full-fledged cliffs, leaving them in a valley that was mostly filled with the running creek. It seemed as though they'd finally come to a point where they would have to cross through the water. It was only a little pool that looked about neck high, maybe a little deeper, but it would mean getting soaking wet.

"Um… Can't we go around it?" Axel asked, shifting his weight nervously.

Roxas turned to give him an exasperated look. "There's nowhere to go around. It's just the creek in front of us and the huge freaking rock cliffs on either side."

"…We could climb the rocks?" Axel suggested, hopefully.

Giving him a confused look, Roxas gestured to the creek. "It's only a little water, Axel. And besides you seem to enjoy taking off your clothes so much, this'll give you a legitimate opportunity to do that."

"Heh, heh, well as much as I'm sure you want a chance to oggle my body, I think I'm gonna pass." Axel said, making his way over to the rocks that towered over them on either side, carefully boosting himself up onto a foothold.

"Axel, get down from there!" Roxas shouted over to him. "You're being ridiculous! It'll take twice as long for you to scale those rock cliffs than if you just took five minutes to take your clothes off and cross the creek!"

But Axel wasn't listening. Carefully scaling the rocks, he continued his quest to cross the section of the creek that was in their way without getting wet. Heaving an irritated sigh, Roxas quickly stripped down to his boxers, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Axel wasn't taking advantage of the situation and perving out over him. But it seemed as though the red headed teen was too busy trying to keep from falling to pay attention to much of anything besides the rocks directly in front of him.

Heaving his pack up and over his head, Roxas stepped into the freezing cold water, biting back a gasp. He was certainly not looking forward to crossing this pool. But at least he had the sense to know it was the best way to get across. Shivering as the freezing cold water enveloped nearly his entire body, only his head just barely sticking up and out of it, Roxas slowly made his way across the pool, careful not to loose his footing on any slippery rocks that might be hiding beneath the water's surface.

However, it proved not to be a slippery rock that was Roxas's downfall, but a sudden, unexpected drop of deep water. Spluttering a last minute yelp as his head went under the surface, Roxas resurfaced a second later to Axel's panicked shouts.

"Roxas! ROXAS?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"I'm fine!" Roxas called back, not in a very good mood. "It's just WATER!"

Axel looked a little hurt at that, and Roxas felt a little bad for about .05 seconds, but he got over that quite quickly in favour of sulking and finishing getting to the other side as fast as he could. It only took another minute or so before he was out of the water, quickly pulling himself up onto a rock and shivering.

Axel, however, was still less than halfway across, picking his way along the cliffs like some sort of very bizarre mountain goat. Roxas rolled his eyes at him – why couldn't he have just crossed through the water like he did? Axel was taller than Roxas and would have had no trouble getting across.

"Hey Axel!" Roxas called out, hoping he wouldn't startle the other male and make him fall off the cliff or something. "You're taking FOREVER!" Axel didn't reply, in fact, he didn't even look up, which Roxas found to be rather strange. Oh well, as long as the other male was in that kind of a mood, he might as well take advantage of it.

"Come on Axel!" he taunted as he pulled his clothes back on. "Pick up the pace! We're supposed to be at the lake sometime this YEAR!" Axel still didn't answer, and Roxas frowned. What the hell was wrong? Usually Axel jumped at the chance of some verbal sparring. But now he was being so… docile. It was freaking Roxas out.

Finally, Axel made it far enough ahead that he was able to cross without getting in the water, climbing down the cliffs and hopping across the creek on a few unsteady rocks sticking out of the water to join Roxas where he sat on his rock in the middle of the creek. "Sorry I took so long." He said, a sheepish, embarrassed, and very forced smile on his face. Roxas raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't press the matter.

"Come on then." He said, pulling his pack back on. Before them stretched a section of creek with ample rocks to navigate, so they weren't going to have to cross any pools again any time soon. Axel was very quiet, and for once Roxas was bothered by it. It meant that something was off, and it irritated him that he didn't know what. After a while, however, Axel initiated conversation, and it wasn't long before he was babbling like an idiot again. Roxas told himself that he almost wanted the creepily quiet Axel back, but he knew it wasn't true.

"…and so I don't know what your opinion on styrofoam is, but personally –"

"Axel, shut up." Roxas suddenly cut in, not even looking back at the blabbing redhead. "We've got to cross the creek again."

Well _that_ certainly shut him up. Going eerily quiet again, Axel didn't say a word, although Roxas could hear him trying to control his breathing behind him. "Axel." He started, turning around. "I said we've got to –"

"I heard you." Axel interrupted, looking around nervously, much as a caged animal might survey its confines for any means of escape. "So, uh, I'm just gonna head over to the cliffs and –"

"Oh no you're not!" Roxas told him, grabbing Axel's wrist as the boy tried to walk off. "Those things have gotten even bigger and steeper since the last time we had to cross a pool, there's no way you'd be able to get up them now."

Axel nervously looked away, attempting to tug his wrist free of Roxas's hold. Roxas didn't allow it. "No, Axel, you're crossing through the water. You'd kill yourself trying to scale those cliffs, and it'll only take a minute to swim across."

Gulping as he nodded in agreement, Axel nervously licked his lips, trying to think of something to say that would stall the inevitable. "Uh… could we at least eat something first?"

"You're not supposed to eat and swim." Roxas pointed out. "You have to wait a while after eating before going back in the water."

"Yeah, I know…" Axel said. "But nobody really listens to that rule anyways. And besides, it's past lunch already. Can't we just have it right now and _then_ cross the creek?" Roxas sighed, pulling his pack up. If they kept this up, they'd spend more time arguing about it than if they sat down and had a full seven course meal before crossing the creek.

"Fine." He relented. "But let's make it quick, okay?"

Looking considerably happy with Roxas's decision, Axel plopped himself down eagerly accepting the food Roxas tossed at him. As eager as he was for the food, however, he took a looooong time getting it down. Roxas had his polished off in a minute or two, but Axel continued on his for several more after that.

"Axel!" Roxas finally snapped. "Just finish the damn food so we can get going!" Axel nodded, finishing it at the pace of a normal human being, as opposed to one who had been drugged with some kind of heavy sedative. In slow motion.

Waiting the obligatory 15 minutes after Axel finished eating before getting back in the water, Roxas shucked off most of his clothes once more, stuffing them back in his pack so they wouldn't get wet. They had been walking along one side of the creek for a while now, because there had been no rocks out in the middle of it for quite some time. They'd had a nice, albeit narrow path just along the rocks to follow, but now it had finally petered out. However, it seemed that there was another such walkway on the opposite side of the creek, if they would just cross it.

Looking back to the other male, Roxas poignantly then looked back to the creek, hoping to give the guy a hint. However, Axel continued to just sit there staring at him, so Roxas felt it was his duty to kick the guys butt into gear.

"AXEL!" he snapped again. "Come _on_! You've had your food, we waited fifteen minutes, it's time to _get a move on_! God, what is wrong with you today? More than usual, I mean!?"

Laughing shakily, and obviously experiencing no hilarity at the situation at hand, Axel stood up, slipping his shirt off and tucking it in the hem of his pants. Roxas's brain took that moment to randomly notice that Axel's sunburn was looking a lot better. Probably thanks to all that entirely platonic aloe-vera-rubbing-in that had transpired the previous night.

"Uh… okay." Axel said, drawing Roxas out of his completely non-sexual thoughts of rubbing lotion onto Axel's chest. "Now what?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Now you grab your pack, put it up over your head, and swim across. Yes, you're going to have to swim." He said, noticing the horrified expression that crossed Axel's face at the word. "Because this pool is deeper than the last one. But it looks like if we just swim right across it there's a place where we can get out on the other side and keep hiking for a while. So let's just _go._"

At this, Roxas took a deep breath, stepping into the water before plunging right in, holding his pack up above his head and kicking frantically at the water. When he heard no following splash, however, he turned to see Axel still standing at the edge of the creek, looking unsure.

"AXEL! GET IN THE FUCKING WATER!"

Axel flinched, stepping in a couple inches, but leaving it at that. Growling, Roxas turned back around, quickly and awkwardly paddling his way over to the opposite shore as he held his pack up over his head with one hand, deciding he'd rather not have an argument with Axel mid-creek. Something told him that Axel wouldn't be jumping in to save him anytime soon, so he decided to continue on by himself for the moment, before he wasted up all his energy shouting and drowned.

Clambering out onto the opposite shore, Roxas immediately threw his pack off to one side. "AXEL! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" he shouted back across the creek. "To get to the other side you kind of have to GET IN THE WATER!"

"I'm working on it!" Axel called back, contemplating the distance.

"Grah!" Roxas exclaimed to himself. What the hell was Axel playing it? All he had to do was get in the water and swim across – it wasn't that hard. Sure it was cold, but other than that there really wasn't anything _that_ terrible about it.

"Hey!" Axel called out, and Roxas looked up.

"What?"

"Catch my pack!"

"WHAT!? No, Axel, don't!" He quickly called back. "You'll never be able to throw it across the whole creek! Just swim across with it!"

Axel ignored him, hefting his bag up over his head and pulling back, preparing to throw it. Roxas waded a few feet out into the water in a rush, still yelling back at Axel.

"Axel! Don't throw the freaking pack!" he told him once again, waving frantically.

But of course Axel threw it anyways.

Giving an impressive heave, the redhead actually managed to get it a little more than halfway across the creek, only to have it land in the water, sinking a bit under it's own weight before being grabbed by the current and pulled downstream. Axel saluted it as it floated away.

"It was a good pack." He solemnly stated, watching it as it drifted around a bend and out of sight.

"AXEL!!!!" Roxas shouted from about waist deep in the water. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?" Axel sheepishly raised a hand to the back of his head, scratching it with a sheepish grin.

"OBVIOUSLY YOU WEREN'T THINKING AT ALL!" Roxas continued, looking royally pissed off. "THAT PACK HAD HALF OUR STUFF IN IT, YOU FREAKING IDIOT! _NOW_ WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, HUH? _HUH_?!GET YOUR ASS THE HELL OVER HERE _RIGHT NOW_ !"

Axel looked like a whipped puppy as he reluctantly but obediently took another step into the water. And another. And another. A visible shudder coursed through him, and Roxas impatiently tapped his foot on the other side of the creek. Taking a deep breath, sealing himself for what he was about to do, Axel took a great leap, throwing himself all the way in the water.

Roxas's first thought was to wonder if Axel actually knew how to swim. Because what he was doing looked like some sort of panicked and frantic, retarded version of the doggie paddle. He was trying to keep himself as far out of the water as possible, but with little success, and Roxas furrowed his brow, wondering just what the heck Axel thought he was doing. To top it all off, the redhead had a wild, terrified look on his face as he flailed about, his usually spiky hair tousled and falling into his face. All in all, he looked rather like some sort of frightened, half-drowned, spiky hamster, flailing in the water like his life depended on it.

Eventually Axel's valiant efforts at swimming somehow got him to the opposite shore, and he frantically dragged himself out of the water, collapsing on his back, chest heaving. Behind him, Roxas frowned, crouching down over him so that they were arranged in a sort of no-contact, 69 of the face position.

"Hello Axel." Roxas greeted, his face looming upside-down over Axels, an eerie forced smile on his lips. "You mind letting me in on what the _hell_ just happened?"

Axel scrambled up into a standing position, looking away from Roxas. Brushing himself off and pulling his shirt back on, he turned and started walking up the creek. "Come on, Roxas." he said, quietly. "You're the one who wanted to get going so badly."

Frown back in place, Roxas grabbed his pack, slinging it up over his shoulders and marched up to Axel, stopping right in front of him and crossing his arms over his chest. Axel moved to step around him, but Roxas stopped him by reaching out and placing a palm flat against his chest.

"Not so fast." He commanded. "I asked you what the hell just happened, and I want an answer. You've been acting really weird all day, and I want to know why. You do realize you just lost half our stuff, right? If I hadn't had the tent and the stove and the food we'd have been totally screwed, you know that right? And yet you still threw your pack in the freaking _creek_! Axel, you're a freak, but I though you at least had a _little_ more sense than that! So tell me what the fuck is wrong, so I don't have to worry that I'm lost in the woods with a complete psychopath!"

Axel hung his head, not responding. Roxas heaved a sigh, waiting for an answer, but when Axel continued to refuse to give one, that broke the last straw.

"AXEL! What the hell is _wrong_ with you!? I try being nice and just asking for an explanation, and you just close up on me! What the hell?! Usually I can't get you to just shut up and act like a normal human being for _one freaking second_, but now you have nothing to say?! Do you want me to _yell_, Axel? Is that how I'm gonna have to drag it out of you? Cause trust me, I would LOVE to yell at you, and if you were acting like you normally do, laughing like a freak at the fact that half our stuff just got washed away, then that's exactly what I'd be doing! But the fact that you're acting like some damn _mute_ is throwing me off, and personally, I think I'm handling the situation pretty well, seeing as I'm apparently dealing with some sort of bi-polar _freak_! And you know what? I –"

"You wanna know why I'm acting weird?" Axel suddenly cut in, in a low, subdued voice.

Roxas huffed and put his hands on his hips, glaring at the male standing in front of him, soaking wet and still in his clothes, red spikes hanging limply over his face. "Yeah, Axel, I would."

"I'm afraid of deep water, okay?" Axel told him, still not meeting his gaze. "If I have to go in water that's too deep for me to stand in, I freak out because I can't swim very well, as I'm sure you noticed. Added to that existing factor, you wanted me to be carrying the stupid pack, which would have hindered my already crappy swimming abilities. I thought that if I could throw the pack across to you, it might make things a little easier for me. I'm sorry that I screwed everything up. I'm sorry I screwed up your whole freaking _life_."

Roxas stood in shock, not knowing what to say. Well. _He_ certainly won the worst person of the year award. How insensitive could he _be_? "I… I'm sorry, Axel. I didn't know… I mean… you were more than fine with the jet ski…"

"That's cause I wasn't actually _in_ the water." Axel pointed out.

"Oh…" Roxas responded, everything falling into place. "Well, I didn't know! I… I just thought that…" he trailed off, not knowing what more to say.

"Whatever." Axel said, brushing past Roxas and continuing up the creek.

Roxas followed after him, not saying anything. He felt absolutely _awful_. Sure, Axel was an annoying freak most of the time, but Roxas knew what it was like to be genuinely afraid of something… and to top it all off he had to go and be a complete bastard about it, laying into Axel when it was completely _obvious_ that something was wrong. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! Suddenly the tables were turned, and Roxas found himself babbling to Axel's completely unresponsive back.

"Uh, I'm really sorry Axel. If I'd have known I wouldn't have been so hard on you… I, uh, is there something I can do to make it up to you? Do you want to play a game?"

Roxas pushed aside feelings of being completely disgusted with himself for acting so out of character, blabbering at Axel for forgiveness like some stupid little kid trying to get back in a parent's good favour. But screw it all, he felt bad, and when he felt bad about something he turned into a groveling little blonde puppy.

"Um… I spy with my little eye… something… that… starts with an 'I' and ends with an ''m sorry'."

The corner of Axel's mouth quirked up at this, and Roxas felt a little relief wash through him. Coming up on Axel's side he looked up at the taller male to gage a reaction, and Axel looked back at him and smiled.

Before promptly pushing him into the creek.

**.x.X.x.**

A soaking wet Roxas grumpily walked alongside a quite upbeat Axel, who regained his humour surprisingly quickly after pushing Roxas in the creek. Apparently he felt as if they were even now, and kept glancing sideways to look at Roxas, who was staring straight ahead and glaring.

In other words, things were back to normal.

"Haha, oh come on, Roxas, you should have seen the look on your face!" Axel laughed. Roxas just grumbled an incoherent response and kept walking. Luckily nothing had gotten too wet inside the pack, but Roxas was a little grouchy over the idea that Axel would just so thoughtlessly dump him and the rest of their remaining supplies in the creek without a second thought.

"So how long until we get there?" Axel asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Hopefully before dark." Roxas grumbled. Sora _had_ said that this was a two day hike, right? So technically, since this was their second day, they should be there before nightfall. At least he hoped so. Being stuck with only Axel for this long was _really_ starting to wear on him.

**.o.O.o.**

Oh Roxas, you insensitive jerk. XD

So yeah, Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than most and doesn't really contain anything massively exciting or anything, but it was needed to further the plot. I mean, who knew Axel actually had a brain and real thoughts and feelings in there? XD Apparently not Roxas.

Oh, and by the way, this chapter is dedicated to **Skitts**, who sends me fun reviews ( and sometimes notes ) each time I update, and always asks in the nicest way for me to please update again soon. Skitts was the one who finally made it hit me that OH MY GOSH, SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY FOLLOW THIS STORY AND _LIKE_ IT!! Yaaaaay! Makes me feel all happy and squiggly inside.

So here's another update, and I hope everyone enjoyed it!


	7. Hypothermia Can Be A Good Thing

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: rocks

Suggested beverage: creek water… again.

Suggested listening: "Right Back In The Water" – Jesse McCartney

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 07: Hypothermia Can Be A Good Thing**

-o-

"So… how long until we get there?" Axel asked for what felt like the bajillionth time in the last five minutes.

"Hopefully before dark." Roxas ground out, not looking back at the other male. Things were _not_ going as planned. They were _supposed_ to have been at the arranged meeting spot at Magic Lake before dark, but it the sun was already setting, and they weren't there yet, nor did they have any way of telling how close they were. Roxas attributed the delay to them having to take the creek instead of the trail, which automatically slowed them down, as well as Axel's stalling that he had been doing all day before Roxas found out what the problem was. They'd had to cross a few more pools since the one where Roxas found out about Axel's issues with water, but none of them had been as deep, cutting down greatly on the amount of arguing that they had to go through before they just went through the stupid thing already.

"Uh… yeah." Axel responded, looking around. "So… in case you hadn't noticed… it's already getting dark out. Maybe we should just –"

"We're not stopping!" Roxas growled. _'It's YOUR fault we're not there yet, anyways!'_ he added to himself.

"Look, Roxas…" Axel tried again. "I just… I really don't think we're gonna get there before it gets dark. Maybe we should just… you know… call it a night."

"I already said we're not stopping." Roxas told him. Sora had said it took two days to get there, and damnit, he was gonna get there in two days if it killed him!

Axel sighed. "Could we at least like… take a break?"

Roxas turned to glare at him but didn't stop walking. "We already stopped and took a break a half an hour ago to eat dinner." He reminded Axel.

Heaving a sigh, Axel tried for a different angle. "Well… we shouldn't be walking around out here this late, anyways. It's getting dark, and we could not see something and trip and fall and get hurt."

"There's a full moon out, Axel." Roxas grumbled. "We'll be fine."

"Well… what about werewolves then!" Axel blurted, and Roxas turned to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Werewolves? Axel, you've got to be kidding me…"

"Werewolves come out on the full moon and we could get eaten!" Axel explained. "You were the one who was so worried about that earlier! And everyone knows nighttime is when all the wild animals that want to eat people come out! Bears, wolves, mountain lions… _deer_." The last one was tacked on for good measure, meant to remind Roxas of the previous night.

And it worked. "Hey, shut up!" Roxas snapped. Unfortunately for Axel, this only further served to harden Roxas's resolve, and he pushed ahead with more determination than before.

"Come oooooooooon, Roxas!" Axel whined. "We could pull over and park anytime now! We've been clear of the cliffs for a while now, and the creek bed's gotten nice and wide again… this is the perfect place to call it a night!"

"I said, no, Axel."

Roxas heard Axel sigh again, and it was obvious even _he_ was getting tired of all the annoying pleading he was doing.

"You know, for someone who agreed to go on this camping trip, you sure do seem to hate every single second of it."

The statement caught Roxas off guard, and he slowed down, allowing Axel to catch up to him. Curious despite himself, he couldn't help but want to hear what else Axel had to say on the matter. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… are you even having fun at _all_?" Axel asked. "Cause it doesn't seem like it."

Roxas thought about this. _Was_ he having fun? True, Axel annoyed the living daylights out of him, and Sora seemed to have the _weirdest_ sense of 'fun' things to do out of everyone Roxas had ever met in his entire life, and Riku was… Riku… but at the same time it was kind of nice… Being out here in the woods away from all the stress and pressure of life in 'the real world'. Granted, this camping trip did seem to have it's own set of stress inducing problems, but for the most part… as much as he grumbled and complained about it, Roxas actually found it to be rather… not fun, exactly, but something like that.

"I guess." The blonde finally answered. "It's just… this isn't the kind of person I am. I don't _do_ this kind of stuff."

"What _do_ you do, then?" Axel asked. "I mean, we've been hanging out all this time, but we really don't know anything about eachother."

"That's not true." Roxas said. "I know that you're an annoying freak who has a fear of water and an interest in lame music."

Axel rolled his eyes. "And I know that you're a bitter little blonde boy who hates the world and everything in it." He responded. Letting out a frustrated sound of annoyance, but not necessarily denial, Roxas kept walking, ignoring Axel. Why did the guy have to get so 'let's get to know eachother' at random intervals? Especially at night. What was it about night that made Axel want to pry into his life?

"So what's your favourite colour?"

Roxas heaved a sigh, not wanting to answer. Hadn't they been through this already? Like, the first night? Oh right, that was right before Axel had lost what was left of his mind and started rolling all over Roxas like some freaking rolling pin. "Do I have to answer?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I asked."

"That's not a good enough reason." Roxas informed him. He really didn't want this little game to continue. The last time he'd started telling Axel stuff about himself he'd ended up admitting to some highly compromising events that transpired between him and a supposed 'enemy'. "And why do you care, anyways?"

Behind him, Axel shrugged, folding his arms behind his head and looking up at the sky, which was quickly filling with stars. "Hey, it's either nag you about yourself or ramble on about whatever comes to mind, and you don't seem to enjoy that very much."

Roxas was a little surprised that Axel was aware of that. He'd always thought that Axel just did it because he was just annoying in general, not really noticing or caring about Roxas's reaction.

The silence didn't seem to agree with Axel, and behind him, Roxas heard a distinctive "Mmm… tree/rock."

"Oh for – What the _hell_, Axel? That doesn't even make sense!"

"Hey, don't judge them!" Axel replied, sounding amused. "Their love is pure and true!"

"Pure and truly stupid." Roxas grumbled.

"So Roxas, did I tell you about the one time me and this guy went into the hardware store and – "

"My favourite colour is blue." Roxas suddenly cut in. Anything to save himself from having to sit through another one of Axel's pointlessly stupid stories.

"That's more like it." Axel grinned. "As long as we're going to be out here all night we might as well enjoy it, right?"

"Speak for yourself." Roxas grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Okay. So then. What kind of music do you like?"

"Anything that's not that crappy boy band junk you listen to." Roxas shot back, and Axel actually laughed.

"Touché."

**.x.X.x.**

A few hours and approximately 28,563,601,46Q2 questions later, even Axel had grown bored of his little games, reverting to 'nag Roxas to stop for the night' mode.

"Come on, Roxas, you can't seriously be considering going _all_ night! We're both exhausted, I'm just the only one self-confident enough to admit it."

"No." Roxas corrected. "You're the only one whiny enough to keep nagging me about it, because you're just to lazy to keep going."

"That too." Axel admitted.

"Well too bad, I wanna get to stupid whatever it's called – Magic Lake – _tonight_, so I'm gonna keep going. If you wanna stay here and call it a night and get eaten by wild animals that's fine with me."

"Aw, Roxie, you _do_ care!" Axel giggled, and Roxas rolled his eyes. He hated when Axel gave him cutesie nicknames, which he did on occasion, but knew better than to tell the other male that, because it would only make him use them more. Best to leave it at the occasional 'Roxie' than to let it escalate into something horrible and permanent like 'Roxie-poo-cuddle-bear-sugar-pie-sweetums.' Roxas shuddered at the thought. "And here I was thinking you didn't return my feelings of fluffy love and puppies and rainbows!"

Roxas turned around to give Axel a dirty look, but kept walking. "Okay, Axel not only is that freaking weird, it doesn't even make _sense._ And I told you before, I am _not_ –"

But whatever Roxas 'was not' never got said, because at that moment he tripped over a rock, twisting his ankle and falling face first into the water.

It wasn't deep, so it was only a second later that Roxas splutteringly pushed himself up, completely soaking wet, only to hear Axel's annoying, uncontrollable laughter in the background.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! HAHA! Oh man Roxas, that was priceless! I wish I had that on film so I could watch it over and over and –"

"Shut up, Axel." Roxas grumbled, picking himself up and continuing to walk ahead so Axel wouldn't see his embarrassed blush. And wow…he really hadn't noticed how cold it was out until the night air bit into his soaking wet, freezing cold clothes. But determined to not let a little cold stop him, Roxas pushed on, followed by an amused Axel. Letting the redhead snicker to himself for a minute, Roxas irritatedly put up with it until it became obvious that it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Quickly turning on his heel again, Roxas opened his mouth to deliver a snappy message ("Look, Axel, it wasn't that funny! Shut up already!") only to once again trip over himself and fall in the creek.

Axel went into absolute _hysterics._ "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, are you doing that on _purpose_ or something?!" He managed in between gasps for air, clutching his stomach. "Cause I mean… _twice_! That's … that's just… Oh man! You're _killing_ me, Roxas!" Breaking down into another laughing fit, Axel collapsed on a nearby rock as Roxas picked himself out of the water, shaking uncontrollably.

_'Great.'_ Roxas miserably thought to himself. _'I'm tired, I'm wet, Axel is probably going to laugh at me for another hour, and to top it all off I think my nipples are frozen.'_ Pathetically shaking his shoes out and wrapping his arms around his chest, Roxas shivered again. This only served to add fuel to the fire for Axel's amusement.

"For only 39 cents a day," Axel announced, trying to sound like he was doing some sort of commercial. "You can help this poor little boy get a new home, clothes, and maybe even a new haircut. Send in your support today!" Unable to handle his own joke, Axel lapsed into another fit of laughter.

"Yeah, haha, very funny, Axel." Roxas bitterly mumbled, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. "Come on, let's keep going."

Axel stopped laughing, and gave Roxas an incredulous look, still a little out of breath. "Ro–Roxas, you can't be serious! You just fell in the freezing creek water – _twice_ – and we've been going since like… an ungodly hour this morning! I think you need to accept it's time to pack it in for the night!"

"N-n-no!" Roxas obstinately shot back. "It – I want to get there t-tonight, and that's what we're g-g-gonna do!"

"Roxas…" Axel said, his voice taking on a serious tone. "Come on. You're gonna kill yourself if you keep pushing yourself like this."

"N-NO I'M NOT!" Roxas shouted back. "I c-can take care of myself j-just fine!"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Roxas, gimme the tent. We're calling it a night." Roxas glared at him, but didn't struggle when he reached out to take the pack, undoing the tent where it was strapped onto the side and walking off a few yards to find a level place to set it up. Roxas simply stood there, teeth chattering, as Axel fumbled with the poles, taking a good five minutes just to get them untangled. Even in his half frozen state, Roxas inwardly basked in his superior tent-setting-up skills.

Finally getting their dilapidated little tent set up and setting out the remaining bedding, Axel grabbed Roxas, shoving him in. "H-hey!" Roxas indignantly protested as he was pushed. The action caused his head to slosh and he realized with dismay that he had water in his ear. Violently jerking his head in an attempt to dislodge it, Axel sent him a funny look.

"Um… so… is this a weird Roxas thing that I didn't know about before now, or is it just the hypothermia setting in?"

"I have w-water in my ear." Roxas told him, still jerking his head, as if this was the utmost of his concerns at the moment. And to be honest, it really was. What's a little hypothermia when you have freaking _water in your ear_? Axel watched him for another minute before the water finally leaked out, at which Roxas gave a heavy, satisfied sigh. Ah, sweet relief.

"You good now?"

"Y-yes." Roxas replied, teeth chattering. Man, it was cold.

"Okay then." Axel said in an authoritative tone. "Strip."

"Wha-WHAT?" Roxas shouted back, wrapping his arms around himself protectively. What was this pervert up to? Was Axel trying to take advantage of the fact that Roxas was suffering from borderline hypothermia so that he could get in his pants?! Well no way, José, Roxas wasn't gonna give in that easy! "N-no way!"

Axel rolled his eyes, taking a step towards Roxas. Roxas took two steps back. Axel took three more forward. Roxas went to take a few more steps back, but found that the stretched canvas sides of the tent prevented him from doing so. Gulp.

"Roxas, come on, don't be such a girl." Axel insisted, and Roxas glared at him. There was nothing girly about not wanting to be raped, damnit!

"K-keep your hands off me, you p-pervert!" Roxas instructed.

"Pervert?" Axel echoed, confused. "What are you talking about? I'm not trying to rape you, I'm trying to get you warmed up so you don't freaking _die!_"

"Oh, so th-that's what they're c-calling it these days!" Roxas shot back. Oh, Axel was a tricky one, alright. Trying to act all concerned for Roxas's safety while he plotted his devious plans.

"What?" Axel asked. "Roxas, I'm not trying to pull some sort of elaborate 'surprise sex attack' on you, I'm just trying to help!"

"Oh, I'm so sure!" Roxas replied, feeling a bit light-headed. Was everything starting to get a little blurry around the edges or was it just him?

"Roxas." Axel began in an exasperated tone. "Stop being difficult. You're like… delirious right now. You've obviously overworked yourself, and you look like you're about to turn into a human popsicle."

"I… I do not!" Roxas protested, wavering a little on his feet. "I'm p-perfectly fine! Y-you're the one who… the one who's t-trying to…t-to…"

Losing his balance, Roxas started to tip over, closing his eyes and bracing himself for impact with the ground, but it never came. Instead, he felt someone's arms wrap around him, holding him up, and when he blinked his eyes open it was to see Axel smiling down on him, one corner of his lips quirked up in a companionable smirk. "You really are stubborn, aren't you?" he asked.

"N-no I'm not." Roxas retorted, but he could feel what little fight and resistance he had in him leaving. _'NO! No, come back!'_ his brain protested. _'I need you!'._ "I just… I j-just… Axel, I don't feel very good."

Axel shook his head in amusement. "Gee, go figure. Now can you please not freak out while I get you out of these clothes?"

Against his better judgment Roxas found himself nodding as Axel pulled him up, grabbing the hem of his shirt and lifting it up and over his head. Feeling a bit trapped and panicky for a second, Roxas struggled, but as soon as it was off he felt a little bit better. That was, until he looked down to see Axel's hands fumbling with his pants.

"Stop that!" he snapped, swatting away the offending hands as a blush rose to his cheeks. "I can d-do that."

"Alright." Axel said in a voice that conveyed that he obviously didn't believe the blonde, stepping back and watching Roxas attempt to undo his own pants. Making frustrated little noises as he attempted to undo his belt, button, and zipper with his shaking hands, Roxas made little progress and after a minute or so growled in irritation, letting his hands fall to his sides. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. But he'd be damned if he was just going to ask if Axel would pretty please take his pants off for him. Thankfully Axel wasn't as stupid as Roxas sometimes thought he was.

"Need some help?" Axel offered. Roxas nodded, unable to bring himself to verbally admit it, causing Axel to chuckle as he moved to help. _'Ew, freaky.'_ Roxas's brain noted. Axel was chuckling as he took off Roxas's pants. Gross.

Carefully sliding Roxas's pants down to pool around his ankles, Axel helped the blonde keep his balance as he stepped out of them. Eyeing Axel warily, Roxas made sure to make his limits known as Axel eyed his last remaining article of clothing. "I'm not letting you take off my boxers."

"I figured as much." Axel sniggered, pulling Roxas down to the sleeping bag and blankets.

"Hey, I need my pajamas." Roxas weakly protested.

"No you don't." Axel said. "You'll be much warmer without them." Roxas mumbled a vague reply to this, but it was mostly unintelligible. "Come on." Axel insisted, pulling up the covers. "Get in."

Only when Roxas felt Axel sliding in beside him after taking off his own pants and shirt did his defensive tendencies kick back into gear. "A-Axel! G-Get out of here!" He shouted, a blush of embarrassment rising to his cheeks. "We're _not_ sh-sharing a sleeping bag!"

"Roxas, shut up already." Axel quipped, pulling the covers up around them as Roxas attempted to squirm away. Stopping him with an arm thrown over his waist, dragging the smaller boy back to him, Axel pulled Roxas flush up against him. "You have to keep warm. And besides, I don't have a sleeping bag anymore, remember? We have to share. Get over it."

Roxas shifted uncomfortably, trying to put even a fraction of an inch between him and Axel, but to no avail. Realizing that he'd just have to suck up his pride and deal with this for the night he eventually lay still, but the tension never left his body, keeping on full alert in case Axel tried anything… untoward.

"Feeling any better?" Axel asked quietly, breath ruffling Roxas's hair, causing the blonde to suppress a shiver. His back was pulled right up against Axel's bare chest, the steady rise and fall as the redhead breathed oddly comforting to Roxas. Not that he'd ever in a million years _admit_ to it.

"Um… y-yeah." Roxas reluctantly replied. He really _was_ starting to feel better. Curse Axel and his random and unexpected nurturing abilities. He was warm and getting dry… and really, _really_ comfortable. Aside from this same insane redhead who had fallen asleep on him in the car, Roxas couldn't remember the last time he had actually slept next to someone… possibly Sora back when they used to have sleepovers when they were both little kids. He'd forgotten how nice it was.

Axel sighed, moving his arm up around Roxas's chest to more firmly tuck the blonde against him as he nuzzled Roxas's hair, breathing in deeply. Roxas stiffened. Maybe it was just the fuzzy haze that had been engulfing his mind for a while now but…was he being… cuddled? Because it sure seemed like it. Axel's fingers brushed up against his bare shin and Roxas felt another shudder go through him. Well _this_ was certainly embarrassing.

"Are you still cold?" Axel asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Y…yeah." Roxas stuttered. Right. Cold. He was cold. Nothing else… just… cold.

"Here…" Axel said, shifting and turning Roxas around. Roxas's foggy brain immediately went into overdrive. What was Axel doing?!

Feeling himself being gently pulled back against Axel, Roxas was quite embarrassed to find himself being drawn half on top of him, their torso's aligned and their legs tangling. Roxas was extremely grateful that it was dark, because he could feel his blush _exploding_ over his face.

"Is this better?" Axel practically whispered the words, and Roxas could only nod in response, hiding his face in Axel's chest, even though he knew Axel couldn't see him. Stiffening slightly as Axel began tentatively running his fingers though Roxas's hair, Roxas sighed, allowing it. Axel was just trying to help, right? Because he thought Roxas was sick and cold? Hesitantly moving his arms to lay them across Axel's chest, Roxas tucked his face into the crook of Axel's neck, nuzzling.

_'This is actually… kind of nice…'_ he thought as he finally drifted off to sleep, at last realizing how tired he really was after such a long and trying day.

**.o.O.o.**

D'aw! Fluffy cuddliness overload! Sick!Roxas and Nurturing!Axel is the cutest thing ever, as far as I'm concerned.

ANYWHOOZLES, notice the speedy rapidity of my updatingness! It is because I have been a writing MACHINE lately, and am so inspired to get this all finished up and posted. This story is my baby, and the fact that I'm starting to get consistent reviewers who I love and who never fail to make my life makes me all sqiggly and happy inside and makes me want to crank this thing out for them.

…also, I went back and spiffed up the header type thing I put at the beginning chapter, and slightly tweaked some of the author notes. Not that anyone really cares or reads those anyways, I'm just saying. XD


	8. Magic Lake!

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: fish

Suggested beverage: lake

Suggested listening: "Summertime" – Aaron Carter (Feat. Baha Men)

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 08: Magic Lake!**

-o-

Roxas was having a really weird dream.

In his dream, a very strange, puppy-like creature of some sort was chasing him around, trying to get him to play. Personally, Roxas found the puppy-creature very annoying, because sometimes it would grow tired with playfully yapping at him and licking him and decide to bite him instead.

"Don't you like him?" Sora was asking, and Roxas realized they were standing in the middle of a lake, in only their underwear. "I got him just for you! He doesn't have rabies!"

"Great. Thanks." Roxas replied, trying to push the puppy-creature off of his leg, which it had just latched onto and started vigorously humping. Apparently it was a _boy_ puppy creature. "Sora, can you please get it to stop doing this?"

"Aw!" dream Sora cooed, snapping a picture with one of those really old fashioned cameras that seemed to explode all over the place when the flash went off. "It just means he likes you! It reminds me of Riku."

Roxas looked at dream Sora, disgusted, and dream Sora continued dreamily. "Yeah, Riku's about as eager as a bunny in heat. It's great, Roxas, you should try it sometime!"

"Sora, what the hell are you on?!" Roxas asked, still unable to believe what he was hearing, and trying to stop the puppy-creature from chewing on his pants. "I don't wanna have sex with Riku! Since when do _you_ wanna have sex with Riku!? Besides, I'm not even gay!"

Dream Sora shrugged and grinned. "Are you sure, Roxas?" he asked, coming closer than Roxas was comfortable with, wearing a very un-Sora like (dream or not) leer. "Have you ever _tried_ it?"

"No!" Roxas defensively responded, vowing to kill Axel if he told Sora anything about what Roxas had revealed during their little 'I never' game. Where was Axel, anyways?

"Well I gotta go then." dream Sora told him. "Riku and I joined a boy band and we need to go to practice before our hot date at the Skeskerville Mansion tonight! We're going to see 'Coatimundi's: A Musical'! Proooowl!"

Ew, what the hell? Did dream Sora just do some sexy little cat noise thing at him? Who were the Skeskervilles, and why did they have a mansion? What the _hell_ was 'Coatimundi's: A Musical'? And why would Sora and Riku join a – actually, the boy band part seemed plausible.

"Uh, that's cool." Roxas responded, not sure what else he was supposed to say. "Can you take this thing with you?" Roxas asked, gesturing to the animal that was still attempting to mate with his leg, growling possessively.

"No, he's for you to keep!" dream Sora said with a wave, hopping onto the skidoo that dream Riku (who was wearing a powder pink tuxedo and sunglasses) had just pulled up on. "Have fun!"

"What? No! Sora, I don't wanna keep him!" Roxas protested as the animal successfully knocked him over, crawling over him and curling up into a happy little ball on top of him, falling fast asleep. Roxas attempted pushing it off, but found that the animal had some rather unpleasant spikes all along its back and on the top of its head. "Get off!" He commanded, but the animal just continued to lie there, looking very content.

Suddenly the inside of a tent flickered around him, only to disappear a second later. "What the hell is going on?" Roxas asked the air. The tent image flickered up again – once, twice – only to disappear once more. Roxas rubbed his eyes, and the image came back in clearer; this time it was the lake that was flickering out. Finally, with one last crackling pop the lake was gone for good, leaving Roxas to stare at the inside of the tent. He stared at it for a few minutes, ignoring the weight on his chest, before realizing that nothing else was happening and he was growing bored. What the heck kind of a dream was this, anyways?

Reaching down to once again push at the weight sprawled across him, Roxas's hand landed in a soft mass of spikes. "Hey, get off." He said, looking down at… Axel?

And that was when Roxas realized he wasn't dreaming anymore.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHH!" Screaming, Roxas tried to sit up, pushing Axel off of him. The redhead tumbled to the side, waking up with a start as he hit the cold floor.

"Whoa, Roxas, what's going – "

_Slap!_

"AXEL, YOU PERVERT, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?! TRYING TO RAPE ME IN MY SLEEP??!"

Axel looked extremely confused and disoriented. "Roxas, what the flip are you on? I wasn't –"

"That's what they all say!" Roxas shot back, pointing an accusing finger at the redhead and not letting Axel finish. "So say what you want, I know you were trying to… trying to…"

…"_You have to keep warm. And besides, I don't have a sleeping bag anymore, remember? We have to share. Get over it."…_

…"_Feeling any better?"…_

…"_Are you still cold?"…_

…_This is actually… kind of nice…_

Suddenly last night's events came washing over Roxas, and he suddenly felt extremely stupid. "Uh… Axel?"

"…Yes?"

"You… uh… weren't trying to rape me, were you?"

"No, Roxas. I wasn't."

Roxas sent Axel an apologetic grin, sheepishly pulling the covers up around his naked torso. "Um… oops."

Sending Roxas a look as if he wasn't quite sure if it was safe to be in an enclosed space with him, Axel pulled one of the blankets towards himself in an attempt to cover up against the chilly morning air. "So… are you okay now?" he asked. "Or should I be worried that you're going to scream like a little girl and smack me again?"

"Shut up." Roxas snapped, reaching over to his pack and pulling out a clean shirt and tugging it over his head. Axel laughed to himself; now finding the situation amusing once the initial shock of waking up to a pissy and violent Roxas wore off.

"And I must say, although molesting you wasn't my original intent, now that you mention it…"

_Slap!_

Shoving some pants on under the blankets, Roxas stood up, grabbing the blanket away from Axel (who was rubbing at the side of his face, wearing a disgruntled pout), rolling it up tightly and packing it up, along with the rest of the bedding. As long as he was up he intended on making use of his time, and that meant making up for all the time he'd lost yesterday and last night – he was going to get to Magic Lake today if it killed him.

**.x.X.x.**

A few hours later, and Roxas was bitterly plowing through the creek bed, a complaining Axel following along behind.

"Roxas, let's take a break."

"No, Axel, we're getting there as soon as possible, and that means no breaks."

Roxas heard a heavy sigh from behind him and he sincerely hoped Axel was having as miserable a time as he was. Being stuck with the redhead for two and a half days was no walk in the park. It wasn't even a walk in the city. It was a hike though the flipping _wilderness_ while dragging along a whining and complaining redhead who insisted on making his life as annoying and frustrating as possible.

Axel sighed, following after Roxas as he tromped though the creek. The blonde sure was determined, he'd give him that.

Roxas glared down at the rocks and water he was navigating through. _Stupid rocks. Stupid water. When I get home I'm never going outside again, because then I might get lost and get stuck back in this wretched creek forever._ Despite the natural beauty of their setting, the blonde was fast becoming to hate this place. Sure, all the surrounding trees and cliffs and flowers were nice to look at, but after two whole days of them Roxas was beginning to find their presence to be completely smothering. Like they were some sort of border patrol for this creek bed _prison_ and Roxas was the inmate, his punishment being the everlasting trek he was on. Oh, and Axel. Axel was definitely some sort of capital punishment from the wilderness gods.

Roxas stared determinedly ahead and let out a wistful sigh. He had never really been much of a lake person, but right now there was nowhere else on earth he'd rather be. Because that idiot lake meant proof that there was life outside of this stupid creek and Axel, which Roxas had been questioning over the last couple days. He could almost see Magic Lake if he thought about it hard enough. Yes, there it was, right there, in all its lake-y glory… Right there, straight ahead of him…

"Hey Roxas, what's that straight ahead of us? It looks like a lake."

Blinking owlishly to clear his eyes from his vivid thoughts, Roxas looked ahead to see that in the near distance, straight in front of them, there really _was_ a lake. _Dear God, I'm free!_ Roxas thought. With a yelp he took off, running full speed ahead.

Bursting out into the clearing by the lake a few moments later, Roxas fell to his knees, kissing the ground. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" He chanted. "I didn't think I'd ever make it away from that awful creek!"

"ROXAS! Look, Riku – it's Roxas!! Aw, look at how much he loves Magic Lake!"

Snapping his head around to look to the side, Roxas was faced with the sight of Sora and Riku, holding beach towels and a picnic basket, obviously just about to set up for a day at the lake. Camp was a ways off behind them, their little tent and fire pit all set up already. Roxas just stared at them, finding himself caught in a very awkward situation. He knew he must have looked quite crazy, stumbling out of nowhere and dropping to his knees to kiss the dirt. Well, at least to Riku what he was doing probably looked a little crazy. Roxas was pretty sure Sora had probably done something quite similar when he and the silver haired teen had first arrived.

With a crashing of underbrush, Axel stepped out onto the beach, surveying the area. "Axel!" Sora jubilantly squealed, dropping what he was carrying and running forward, grabbing both Axel and Roxas and crushing them into a giant hug. Roxas frowned – he was not a big fan of being in such close proximity to Axel. He'd had enough of that over the past few days to last him a while, thank you very much. Also, the way Sora had grabbed them caused Axel's hip to dig into Roxas's side in a somewhat uncomfortable manner. Ow and ew at the same time.

Eventually though, Sora did release them, and Roxas stepped away, looking and feeling rather disgruntled. "So do you guys wanna go swimming with me and Riku?" Sora happily asked, beaming at them both.

"Pass." Roxas said, turning and heading back towards where Sora and Riku had set up camp. "I'm gonna go set up the tent and stuff."

"Oh…" Sora replied, obviously disappointed. "Well… what about you, Axel?"

"I think I'm gonna go help Roxie out." Axel told him with a wink, and Roxas cringed at overhearing this on his way back to camp. "But I'll come down in a bit, alright?"

"Okay…" Sora pouted before trotting off with Riku down to the water. Roxas head the sound of footsteps catching up to him and rolled his eyes. Gah, why was Axel following after him like some dumb puppy who couldn't take a hint?

"Haven't we hung out enough lately?" Roxas questioned, not even turning around. "I don't need any help setting up the tent; you can go swimming."

"Nah, I wanna help out." Axel insisted and Roxas let out a heavy and very and obvious sigh, hoping Axel would catch on to the fact that he really wanted a break from the Axel/Roxas bonding time.

However, Axel didn't take the hint, and the two of them struggled with getting their tent set up. Not that setting it up was all that difficult in itself, but the constant, petty, bickering that they engaged in the whole time made the entire process rather frustrating and take much longer than it should have. Finally after they got everything all set up, Roxas climbed in the tent, unrolling all of his bedding and collapsing on top of it, closing his eyes and deciding to take a well deserved nap.

"What are you doing?" Axel inquired, peeking into the tent.

"Taking a nap." Roxas snapped back. "So go away."

"Nah, I think I'll take a nap too." Axel announced, climbing in.

"Axel, get the hell out." Roxas told him, opening one eye to see what the heck Axel though he was doing. He was feeling very cranky and sleep deprived and Axel wasn't helping matters one bit. "Don't you think we've spent enough time together already? Let me take a freaking nap by myself."

Axel, however, didn't listen to a word Roxas said, flopping down into the fluffy bedding and making himself comfortable. Roxas shoved at him. "Go find somewhere else to lay down."

"Can't." Axel mumbled, burrowing his face into the blankets. "I don't have my own stuff anymore, remember?"

"And whose fault is that?" Roxas grumbled, rolling over to face away from the redheaded teen, accepting that he was going to have to deal with Axel for yet a while longer. Fine, he could accept that. As long as the stupid kid kept to his side of the bed and didn't bother him.

**.x.X.x.**

"Guys! Hey guys, wake up!"

Groggily groaning and sitting up, Roxas opened his eyes to see Sora sticking his head in the tent, clad in only his dripping wet swim trunks and with an ecstatic grin on his face. "Sora, what is it? I was asleep."

"I know…" Sora said, raising an arm to scratch at the back of his head, looking like he felt a _little_ bad for interrupting Roxas's nap, but not too much. "But I have something really cool to show you guys, and if you keep sleeping all afternoon you won't be able to sleep at all tonight."

Roxas knew the second half of this statement was probably true, but he very much doubted that the first part was. He was starting to get a feel for what Sora considered 'fun' and was quickly finding that Sora's and his ideas of 'fun' were worlds apart.

"So come on, wake Axel up and come down to the lake!" Sora said before turning and scampering back down to the water. Roxas sighed, glancing down at Axel, who had thrown his arm around the blonde's waist.

"Hey, get off." Roxas commanded, grabbing Axel's arm and flinging it off of him. Axel didn't wake up at this, however, so Roxas insistently jabbed at him in the ribs. "Hey, wake up, idiot, Sora wants us to go down to the lake with him."

Axel mumbled in his sleep as he slowly woke up, blinking his eyes open to look up at Roxas, who was frowning down at him. Axel simply stared up at him for a moment before a sleepy smile crossed his face. "Morning beautiful."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Sora wants us to get down to the lake to show us something or whatever. Get changed." Axel grinned, making a show of unzipping his pants. "Okay, ew." Roxas said in response, grabbing his swim shorts and heading outside to get changed behind a towel.

A few minutes later and Roxas and Axel were down at the lake, Sora beaming at them and gesturing to two somethings that were floating out in the water.

"Tada!" He proudly announced. "Water toys! I brought an old inflatable mattress and this cool new inflatable floatie raft thing, isn't that fun!"

Roxas gazed at the floating objects with something akin to awed disgust. The old, beat up mattress was a dark reddish colour, had weird lumps in it, and was quite a bit larger than the other, newer 'toy' Sora had brought along. The new floatie was only about half the size, obviously only meant for one person and it was… it was…

"Sora, that thing is freaking _rainbow._" Roxas said. Like hell was he going to splash around with a blow-up rainbow floatie.

Suddenly Axel burst out laughing. "Ahahahaha!!! That raft looks so gay! … Roxas, go get on it!"

The blonde turned to glare at Axel, not amused by the implications of that suggestion. However, before he could even so much as voice his thoughts on the matter, Axel was hauling him up into his arms and the next thing Roxas knew he was soaring through the air, only to land in the water with a giant splash a second later.

Spluttering as he sat up (at least Axel hadn't thrown him in that deep), Roxas gave Axel a look of pure, unadulterated abhorrence before launching himself at the fiery haired teen, tackling him and taking them both back down into the shallow water. Sora let out a whoop, obviously thinking they were playing, and jumped on Riku, sending both boys into the water with a happy splash.

Meanwhile, Roxas was doing his best to drag Axel down into the water with only minimal success, seeing as Axel was a lot bigger than him. Crawling all over the elder teen, Roxas was suddenly picked up again (against his will, as he made quite clear by all the angry shouting and protesting he was doing) by a laughing Axel and dumped unceremoniously onto the rainbow floatie raft toy. Angrily pouting, Roxas accepted this fate, as it seemed to be the only way Axel was going to be satisfied and quit bugging him. As a very disgruntled and wet Roxas sat on the rainbow floatie, hands out in front of him on it to balance himself – its flimsy structure seemed to be constantly threatening to tip him over – Axel stood a few feet away, about waist deep in the water, laughing his head off and pointing at the blonde as if he'd never seen anything more hilarious in his entire life.

"Piss off, Axel." Roxas said, hoping Axel would just leave him alone. _Let this humiliation just be over with already…_

"Ahaha, no way." Axel retorted. "This is way too great to pass up. I wanna remember this forever. The High and Mighty Roxas pouting on a rainbow floatie. If only I had a camera, I could take a picture that I could blow up poster size to frame and put up on my wall."

Roxas added a blush to his disgruntled pouting at realizing how foolish he must look. "Shut up."

"No way." Axel grinned back, plunging his hand into the water and splashing Roxas.

"Hey, cut that out you freaking jerk!" Roxas hated being splashed.

"Make me!"

Roxas reached out and smacked Axel rather hard in the arm and the redhead had the decency to cut out his splashing. "Haha, okay fine, I'll quit it. But you're just so easy to bother!" Roxas only glared at him in response, letting Axel know that he was going to have to work a little harder than that to earn forgiveness. Actually, a _lot_ harder.

Axel gave an exaggerated sigh, placing one hand on his hip and using the other to gesture vaguely in the air next to him as he spoke. "Roxas, I am most sincerely sorry that I splashed you." He said, sounding serious. Roxas raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really?"

Axel gave a snort of laughter. "Pffft, no!" he replied, launching himself at the floatie and tackling Roxas.

"AXEL!" Roxas yelled as he nearly toppled off the raft, Axel clinging onto it and grinning up at him. "Axel, get the hell off my floatie!"

"You know… I don't think I will." Axel responded, still grinning, much to Roxas's infuriation.

"Get off!" Roxas repeated, shoving at Axel and trying to push him off, but to no avail. In fact, this only served to make Axel cling to it more firmly, taking obvious joy in invading Roxas's personal space.

"I'm serious!" Roxas insisted, struggling to maintain his balance on the severely unstable floatie. "Axel, you're gonna tip me over!"

Axel didn't seem to care, though, because he kept at it, attempting to clamber onto the tiny little raft, Roxas continuing to shove at him. Finally, with one powerful lunge, Axel heaved himself up onto the floatie with Roxas, ending up sprawled across the smaller male. The floatie swashed around dangerously for a minute, but eventually settled back into an easy rocking and Axel flashed Roxas a triumphant grin.

"See? We can both fit on it without it tipping."

"Yeah well that still doesn't mean I want you laying on top of me, you freak." Roxas responded, giving Axel one last shove and effectively pushing him off the raft.

"Hey, Roxas that was really…." Suddenly Axel cut himself off, eyes widening to the size of giant dinner plates as he began flailing in the water, desperately trying to clutch onto the floatie. "Let me back on, let me back on!"

The raft once again threatened to tip, and Roxas gripped it tightly, not understanding why Axel was freaking out all of a sudden. He was the one who'd started all these shoving water games, why was it that all of a sudden he was flailing around like a drowning chicken with it's head cut off? The only other time Roxas had ever seen him act like this was when they had needed to cross across that one deep pool in the…

Suddenly it hit him. Looking up, Roxas saw that the shore was a considerable distance away, all of their splashing and tussling must have gotten them out here. The water where they were was considerably deeper than either of them could stand in, thus Axel's sudden flip out.

"Axel, calm down, we can just paddle back to the –"

"NO WE CAN'T!" Axel insisted. "We're going to get eaten by the lake monster!!"

"Lake monster?" Roxas inquired, raising an eyebrow. Apparently Axel went delirious as well as panicked when he was in deep water. "Axel, cut it out, there's no –"

"Yes there is!" Axel cut in, scrambling onto the dinky little floatie and clutching onto Roxas for dear life. At the added weight the little raft gave a violent heave, nearly overturning, but Roxas managed to right it before they were both dumped into the water.

"Look, Axel, you're on the raft now, okay? Let's just paddle back to shore and everything's gonna be okay." Roxas reached into the water to drag his arm though it as a makeshift paddle, causing the floatie to give another unpleasant lurch. Axel whimpered pathetically, crushing Roxas's other arm in a death hold.

"You're fine." Roxas sighed, attempting to maneuver the floatie back to shore with only one arm, Axel's nervous squirming making it very difficult. "And can you stop moving around? You're making it more difficult than it already is." Slipping a little, Roxas accidentally leaned too far to one side, causing the raft to tip.

"OH MY GOD!" Axel wailed, nearly sobbing. "I'M TOO FAT! I'M GOING TO SINK THE RAFT!"

Roxas gave Axel a weird look. "What the hell are you talking about? You're like… the polar opposite of fat, you freak!"

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" Axel chanted, burying his face in Roxas's shoulder.

"You're not going to die!" Roxas shouted in exasperation. "Get a grip already! If you'd just give me my arm back and let me paddle I could get us back to shore!"

"No you couldn't! I'm too fat and the raft is going to sink and then we're gonna get eaten by the lake monster and –"

Just then Axel slipped to one side, pulling Roxas off with him as he landed back in the water with an impressive splash. Surfacing, and still in hysterics, Axel flailed for the floatie, whimpering and clinging onto it for dear life, muttering incoherent fears. Roxas rolled his eyes as he treaded water a few feet away.

"Hey, you guys need some help?"

The blonde turned to see Sora and Riku, floating on their mattress a few yards away and looking concerned. Oh, of course _they_ had a proper paddle.

"Yeah, that'd be helpful." Roxas replied, grabbing onto the rainbow floatie and awkwardly dragging it through the water over to where Sora and Riku were, carefully pulling himself up onto the mattress and holding onto the other floatie, which Axel was still clinging to, whimpering with his eyes shut tight as he awaited his imagined fate. Roxas sighed, shaking his head.

Slowly but surely, Sora and Riku paddled them back to shore, dragging Axel along behind.

**.o.O.o.**

WHOOO!! MAGIC LAKE! They finally made it!

So hello, you lovely people you! I hope you liked the chapter, and I just had one or two announcements to make. First of all, I wanted to do some shameless self-promoting and tell anyone who might care that I've posted a side story to this fic called 'Tent Games' and it's about what Sora and Riku did during the time when the group was split up on the way to the lake. I dunno, you might not agree, but I kinda thought it was a cool idea…

That said, I'd also like to say that I would really like to have this thing done by the end of the year. I've pretty much got all the chapters laid out, it would just be a matter of editing and posting them. There's only 5 more chapters to go, but would that be like… an overload of posting them in such a short period of time?

Anyways, I hope people enjoyed the chapter, and any feedback is appreciated!


	9. Skinnydipping

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: nekkid

Suggested beverage: thingamasquig

Suggested listening: "Naked" – Avril Lavigne XD

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 09: Skinnydipping**

-o-

Later that night after Axel had calmed down and was back to his normal, annoying self, dinner had been served, and Roxas had obligatorily waited for at least one star to flicker it's pathetic little twinkle of light into the night sky, the blonde crawled into his tent and flopped down onto his bedding (not even bothering to take off his clothes), sighing as he closed his eyes. Despite the nap he had taken earlier in the day, he didn't feel at all rested up. Deciding that he was going to catch up on a well deserved good nights sleep – something he had been deprived of the last few nights – Roxas turned over on his side, curling around a pillow and almost instantly drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

**.x.X.x.**

"Roxas… Hey, Roxas…"

Vaguely, in his half-asleep haze, Roxas registered that someone was whispering his name, obviously trying to get a response out of him. But he was having none of that – he had been asleep up until a minute ago, when the nagging voice had stirred him half awake, and he was not going to give whoever it was the pleasure of being dignified with a response of any kind. Besides, after hanging out with Sora and Axel for all this time Roxas had learned to effectively block out any unwanted conversation.

"…Fine, I didn't wanna have to do this the hard way, but you give me no other choice."

Suddenly Roxas was being scooped up, blankets and all, and carried out of the tent. He suddenly felt wide awake, blinking his eyes open and glaring up at whoever was holding him. Which, of _course_ turned out to be Axel.

"Axel, what the hell are you doing?!" He asked. (Quite calmly in his opinion, given the situation. It was the middle of the night, and Axel was carting him off into the woods or somewhere just as bad for all he knew.)

"I tried waking you up and doing this the easy way, but you were being stubborn." Axel said, looking like he was taking great enjoyment in the current situation, and even _preferred_ it over 'the easy way'.

"Of course I was!" Roxas shot back, beginning to struggle in Axel's hold. "It's the middle of the night! Where the hell would I be needing to go in the middle of the night, other than back into my tent so that I can go back to sleep?!"

Axel grinned, looking down at Roxas in the bundle of blankets in his arms. "We're going swimming."

Roxas stopped struggling and deadpanned, his expression unamused. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope!" Axel happily replied.

And indeed, Axel wasn't kidding. Roxas saw the lake reflecting the moonlight only a few yards away. Two figures stood by its edge – presumably Sora and Riku – and it finally sunk in for Roxas that he was really expected to get in the water in the middle of the night. Well he was having none of that!

"Axel, put me down right now!" he commanded, launching anew into his feeble, tangled attempts at escape. "I never assumed you had much of a mind to begin with, but you _must_ have had one, because you have obviously _lost_ it if you expect me to get in that lake in the middle of the night! It's going to be freaking _cold_!"

"But fun!"

"Oh, yeah – my crotch is freezing in anticipation." Roxas sarcastically remarked. "Come on, who _knows_ what's in there at night!"

"Nothing that wasn't there during the day."

"Oh! Right! This from the spaz-case who was afraid a _lake monster_ was going to eat him this afternoon!"

Axel was saved from having to reply to this, however, because they had finally arrived at the lake's edge, Sora smiling up brightly at Roxas in his captive hold.

"Yay! Axel got you to come!"

"More like forcibly kidnapped me…" Roxas muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay then!" Sora replied. "Axel, you can put him down now!"

Roxas glared up at Axel, who complied with Sora's directives, letting go of the blonde to let him fall rather ungracefully to the ground, tangled in his blankets which, of course, ended up in the water, immediately becoming soaking wet. Letting out a panicked yelp, Roxas attempted to salvage what he could, but it turned out there was no saving the soaked sheets, he'd just have to wait until tomorrow and lay them out in the sun to dry or put them by the fire.

Rather meeved at Axel for dropping him, Roxas sent him a glare before turning to Sora, gathering that he was the ringleader for this late night escapade.

"So why the hell did you drag us out here – or in my case get someone _else_ to drag me out here – in the middle of the night?" Roxas grumpily questioned. In reply Sora sent Roxas a wide, toothy grin, and Roxas's brain immediately went into 'panic!' mode. Nothing that got Sora this excited this late out in the woods could be good for him. And at Sora's enthusiastic announcement that followed, all of his apprehensions were confirmed.

"We're going swimming!"

Well _duh_! Roxas already knew that. He just wanted to know _why_, but it didn't seem like anyone cared to tell him. But he might as well make one last attempt at pointing out the ludicrousy of the situation to the crazy brunette. "Sora, we can go swimming during the day when it's not so cold and dark. And besides, I don't have my swimsuit with me so I don't think… Sora, why are you taking your pants off… Sora… why are you… uh…."

Roxas trailed off as Sora was currently in the process of not only shedding himself of just his pants and shirt, but the rest of his clothes as well. Roxas's eyes widened and he was equally torn between taking the girly approach of squealing and blushing like crazy while averting his gaze, or taking the manly approach and being highly offended and making some witty and possibly insulting retort at Sora to cast light on the awkwardness of the situation and hopefully get him to put his clothes back on. In the end his conflicting response choices reached some sort of compromise and he looked away with an explosive blush and some sort of undignified 'eep!', snapping out an offended "Keep your clothes on! What do you think you're doing?"

Sora paused, halfway through the process of pulling his boxers off, looking back to Roxas, a patronizing expression on his face, as if he was trying to explain something to a rather stupid animal or small child. "Well duh, Roxas! We're going _skinnydipping_!"

At hearing this, pure panic gripped Roxas like an icy hand of _death_. Attempting to make one last, spectacular break for freedom, Roxas tried to bolt back to his tent, only to be stopped by Axel grabbing him by the back of his shirt, causing the blonde to comically choke and snap back, like a dog trying to run off but forgetting that it's leash was tied to something. Damnation!

"Where do you think _you're_ going, Rrrrroxas?" Axel asked, grinning down at him. Obviously the redhead didn't care one way or the other for Sora's 'late night adventure' plans, but instead just took immense pleasure in seeing Roxas in compromising and embarrassing situations. _The sadistic bastard!_ Roxas's mind quipped irritatedly.

"Like hell I'm getting naked and swimming around in a freezing cold lake in the middle of the night." Roxas snapped in explanation. Overhearing this, Sora looked hurt.

"You mean you don't want to?" the brunette pouted.

"Of _course_ I – " Roxas began, but cut himself short at the look Sora was giving him. Curse that kid and his irresistible pouty puppy face! How did Sora manage to come up with a look that could render even the most coldhearted bastard completely guilt-tripped and willing to comply to his every whim? No wonder he was able to get Riku – whose _hair_, although girly, seemed to have more sense than Sora's _brain _– to go along with all of his stupid and/or wild ideas most all the time.

"_Fine_." Roxas huffed, heaving a sigh, and Sora happily clapped, tearing off his last remaining article of clothing and leaping into the water with a whoop. Riku stared after him as the brunette surfaced, tossing his hair back and sending sparkling drops of water flying in the moonlight. Turning to Roxas, Riku offered a "He looks kinda like Pocahontas when he's all wet like that." before stripping off his clothing and proceeding to join Sora in the water without any more explanation.

Slightly disturbed at this comparison (and trying to avoid looking at Riku or Sora), Roxas wrapped his arms over his chest, rubbing his arms. He really didn't want to do this. Having to deal with his friends naked was one thing, but Roxas was very insecure about his own body. Maybe he could just wait until everyone wasn't paying attention, and then he could just sneak off back to the –

"What'cha waiting for, Roxie?"

Turning around, Roxas saw that Axel was grinning at him in a mocking manner. Oh, he knew _exactly_ what Roxas was waiting for; he just wanted to bug him about it. Roxas glared at him.

"Aw, don't tell me Roxie is embarrassed that everyone is going to see his dangly bits?"

Blushing at this, Roxas snapped back a quick response that came off as a little too defensive to be completely true. "I am not! I just… uh… I just think it's a stupid idea."

"Uh huh, yeah, sure." Axel smirked back, patting Roxas in a patronizing manner. "It's okay if you're embarrassed by your thingamasquig, Roxie. We're not here to judge."

Roxas flushed even darker at this, both in embarrassment and predictable anger at the implications of Axel's statement. Was Axel trying to imply that Roxas's manhood was not up to snuff? Oh no he dih'nt! Roxas was bout to snap out an overexaggerated contradiction to these implications when Sora ran up to them, totally disregarding the fact that he was completely naked.

"Come on guys, get in, what are you waiting for?"

Roxas dearly wanted to say 'For you to put some clothes back on', but refrained, instead choosing to look anywhere _but_ at Sora. Oh look, he'd never noticed that particular tree before. And that rock was looking quite… rockish in the moonlight.

"Don't worry, we'll be there in a sec." Axel answered, and Sora, satisfied with that answer, scampered back off into the water. Axel then turned back to Roxas, making sure he had the blonde's full attention before hooking a finger in the waistband of his pants, pulling them down an inch or so. Roxas found his gaze drifting inappropriately low, staring at the newly exposed skin, before he realized what he was doing, jerking his eyes back up to look at Axel's face. Axel smirked down at him, and when he spoke he had lost the teasing quality to his tone, his voice much deeper and slower and… _definitely **not**__seductive!_ Roxas's brain told him.

"Come on, Roxas… what are you waiting for?"

"Uh… I'm just… uh…" Roxas stuttered out, embarrassed. "Why is everyone so anxious to see me without any clothes on?!" To this, Axel gave Roxas a very disconcerting leer, and the blonde suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable and scrutinized. "Um, okay, ew." Roxas continued. "I'm gonna go get naked somewhere else, you pervert." As loosely as he said the words, Roxas was still more than a little unnerved at catching Axel looking at him like that. The redhead had almost looked like he wasn't doing it as a joke…

_Hahaha, but that's just stupid._ Roxas's brain reassured him as he walked off along the edge of the lake, trying to find somewhere nice and secluded and preferably with the cover of lots and lots of brush for him to get undressed behind. _It's stupid because I'm a guy, and Axel's a FREAKY guy, and that's just weird and wrong and definitely **not** something I want to think about. Just like the whole Sora/Riku thing._

_…Mmm… Axel/Roxas…_

"WRONG!!!" Roxas said aloud, clutching his head and scrunching his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the mental images he was getting to accompany that unbidden train of thought. "God, brain, what's wrong with you?"

Still grumbling to himself, Roxas slipped behind a bush at the lake's edge, tugging his shirt up and over his head before tossing it aside and making sure it landed out of the water. Looking around to make sure no one (a.k.a. AXEL!), had decided to spy on him Roxas quickly made work of his shoes, socks and pants, tossing them on top of his shirt.

Standing at the lake's edge in only his boxers, Roxas surveyed the area. He could see that Sora and Riku were messing around a little ways off, splashing and wrestling in the freezing cold water the same as they had been earlier that afternoon. Except now they were… well… not wearing anything. All of a sudden Riku dunked under the water, not resurfacing.

"Hahahahaha…aha…ha?… Riku?" Sora inquired, having been in the middle of laughing at something when Riku suddenly disappeared. "Riku?" Roxas could hear him saying as he turned around, looking for his friend. "Riku, where'd you go?"

The water where Sora was standing was dark, but from where Roxas was the moonlight hit the water at the perfect angle that allowed him to have a nearly perfect view at what was happening underneath its surface. And right now he could see that Riku had ducked under the water, only to swim around behind Sora, obviously intending to surprise and startle him by sneaking up on the confused brunette.

"Heh, heh, heh..." Roxas smirked to himself, evily. Oh, this was gonna be good. Finally Sora was going to be the one getting an unpleasant surprise and be the one screaming like a girl, instead of Roxas. Heck, he was manlier than Sora, the silly little brunette was probably going to make _more_ of an embarrassing spectacle of himself than Roxas had. Ahahahaha! Roxas couldn't wait.

Suddenly Riku made his move, lunging forward out of the water and attacking Sora. _Here it comes… wait for it…_ Roxas's mind smugly told him. As Riku yanked Sora down the brunette's mouth opened wide and he let forth a mighty…

…stream of giggles.

"Heeheeheehee, RIKU! Haha, don't _do_ that!" Sora happily tee-hee'd. Roxas's jaw dropped. What the hell? Sora was supposed to be squealing like a stuck pig, not giggling like a schoolgirl! Granted, that was still a very pansy-like response, but nowhere near as embarrassing as Roxas's shrill cries of utter terror whenever Axel –

Axel…

Axel was nowhere to be seen.

Taking this as an ominous sign and suddenly feeling very paranoid about being alone in the bushes, Roxas took a deep, calming breath before finally removing his last, precious article of clothing. Looking from side to side and trying to cover himself as much as possible, Roxas stepped up to the water's edge, planning on silently slipping in and making his way over to where Sora and Riku were – there was safety in numbers, after all – and was about waist deep when a dark patch of water suddenly _exploded_ right next to him, something hurtling itself at him from it's (not extremely impressive) depths, crashing into him and taking him down for the count.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH–mlph!!!"

Coughing up the water he had swallowed as he surfaced, Roxas glanced around wildly, trying to locate his attacker (although he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew who it was. Someone whose name started with an 'A' and ended in an 'xel'.)

Suddenly Roxas was hit from the side again, although this time he kept from getting dunked under the water. A flash of violently red hair assaulted his vision, and with a growl Roxas thrashed back against the person who was seemingly attempting to wrestle him down into the water.

"Axel, what the fuck are you doing?" Roxas shouted, his voice cracking a little in his panicked anxiety as he tried to get away. "Trying to _drown_ me?"

"Ahaha, little Roxie is all naked and vulnerable to attack…" Axel snerked, attempting to grab the struggling Roxas around the waist and drag him back.

"ARGH! _Axel_! You pervert! Get off me!" Roxas demanded, wildly thrashing as he was pulled back against Axel's chest.

"Haha, no way." Axel growled back. "The innocent little Roxas strayed too far into the big, scary lake, and now the lake monster is going to eat him alive!"

Scowling at Axel's annoying use of speaking of himself in third person, Roxas attempted to squirm out of the redhead's hold. "Come on, Axel, cut it out, let me go." He repeated, struggling in Axel's arms, flailing against the taller male's…

…very… naked…body.

"AXEL!" Roxas breathlessly gasped, voice cracking in an embarrassing manner as he writhed, now above and beyond desperate. "Axel, let me go _right now_! Do you realize we're both totally _naked_ right now?!"

In an instant all motion stilled. Roxas took this to mean that Axel had finally realized the immense awkwardness of the situation, and was frozen, trying to comprehend the circumstances and get out of them as quickly and painlessly as possible. For both their sakes.

Of course, Roxas had forgotten to take into account that this was _Axel_, and therefore, he was a dense freak of nature.

"… so?"

"GRAH!" Roxas burst, in response to Axel's seemingly oblivious reply. "We. Are. NAKED!" he reiterated. "And you're grabbing me, and in my struggles to get away we are being forced into _extremely_ close contact! I don't know about YOU, you filthy pervert, but to _me_ that is just _AWKWARD._"

Axel actually had the audacity to _laugh_ at this.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Roxas snapped back, renewing his struggling efforts while at the same time attempting to make as little contact with Axel as possible.

"Ahaha… Roxas… hahaha…" Axel gasped between buts of laughter. "Man, you must really love it in that stuffy little closet of yours."

It took a moment for Roxas's confused brain to process this, but when it finally did, the result was not a pleasant one. "WHAT?! GOD, AXEL, FOR THE LAST TIME – I. AM. NOT. _GAY_!"

"Whatever you say, Roxas." Axel said with a chuckle. "But de Nile ain't just a river in Egypt." To punctuate this, Axel leaned forward to give Roxas's ear a quick nip before finally letting go and heading over to where Sora and Riku were still splashing around, somehow oblivious to the encounter that had just taken place between the other two members of the group.

Roxas stood there in shock for another minute, trying to process what had just happened, and what on earth Axel had meant by his parting comment. What did the Nile have to do with Roxas not being gay? The Nile… de Nile… de…nial…

Suddenly it clicked.

"AXEL!!" Roxas shouted, making his way over to the group and fully intending on drowning that fiery-haired annoyance. "I AM NOT IN FUCKING DENIAL!"

**.o.O.o.**

… "not in denial". Oh yeah, I'm so sure. XD

Sorry this chapter was a little bit shorter than usual, it was actually supposed to be a part of the last chapter, but I decided to break it up otherwise it would have been WAAAY to long.

In other news, I don't think I'm going to get the posting of this thing finished up by the end of the year. It'd just be too much in too short of a time frame. Oh wells. But rest assured, steady updates will still keep a'comin' for all you who follow this cracktacular piece of writing!

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter (hee hee, naked XD) and I hope everyone has a great holiday season! Happy Christmahanukwanzaka!


	10. A Trip Into Town

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: mystery soup, hotdogs, and bagels

Suggested beverage: bottled water

Suggested listening: "Just Go" – Jesse McCartney

**.o.O.o**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 10: A Trip Into Town**

-o-

The next morning Roxas didn't get out of bed until nearly noon, waking up to sunlight streaming through the window right into his sensitive eyes, and the sounds of Sora running around excitedly, knocking stuff over. But hey, at least there wasn't any barking. That was always a good sign. And apparently Axel wasn't in the tent. That was a _great _sign. Blearily sitting up, the covers slumped off of Roxas's shoulders as he reached over to grab a shirt and pants, tugging them on before exiting the tent.

"GOOD MORNING ROXAS!!" Sora greeted, wildly waving at him from where Riku was setting up the cooking gear on a collapsible table.

"Nnn." Roxas responded, running a hand through his hair and plopping down in one of the chairs by the fire, making sure to stay on the opposite side of the flames from Axel. The redhead had taken to prodding at the flames with a stick, and Roxas really didn't want to be any closer to that than he had to be.

"Moooorning, Roxie." Axel drawled with a smirk. "Sleep well?"

"Whatever." Roxas replied. The nerve of Axel, thinking he was allowed to talk to Roxas after last night. Not only had the idiot accused him of being gay – AGAIN! – but he had also "accidentally" knocked all of Roxas's clothes into the water, meaning that after their little midnight skinnydipping adventure was over, Roxas had to wrap himself up in the (also soaking wet) blankets that Axel had initially carried the blonde down to the water in. It was cold and wet and unpleasant, but it was either that or having to scamper back to the tent completely naked, which would have been not only unpleasant, but extremely embarrassing. The aforementioned articles of sopping clothing and sheets were currently hung on some fishing line in the sun in the hopes that they would dry sometime before the end of the trip. Roxas wasn't making any bets on the likelihood of this actually happening.

"Sora, the food stuff is all set up." Riku announced, to which Sora gave a happy squee and frolicked on over to the makeshift kitchen area.

"YAY! Thank you Riku! Now I can make lunch for everyone!"

Roxas snapped his head up at this. …_Sora_ was making their lunch? As in… they were going to be eating something that _SORA_ had made? Thinking back, Roxas wasn't sure the brunette had made so much as _cereal_ before without subsequent disaster.

Sidling over to investigate the situation, Roxas observed Sora throwing random odds and ends into a large cooking pot, seemingly at random. "Um… Riku?" Roxas inquired in a low, conspiratory tone. "Is it… _safe_ to let Sora be in charge of lunch?" Riku nodded, not taking his eyes off of the brunette who was happily humming as he arranged his concoction.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. He's putting it in a pot, right?" Roxas nodded, not quite sure what that had to do with anything until Riku further explained. "That means whatever it is, it's going to get boiled. So whatever he's putting in there… the heat will get rid of anything that might kill us."

This made Roxas feel a lot better. He would be able to eat Sora's cooking and live to see another day, as long as the silver haired teen was overseeing things. Thank God for Riku.

"Okay, good." Roxas sighed in relief, watching Sora mix whatever was in the pot with a great deal of flourish, to the point where some of it actually sloshed over the sides. "Cause… you know… no offense to Sora or anything… but, uh, his culinary skills aren't exactly…"

"Up to par?" Riku filled in with a smirk as Roxas trailed off.

"Heh heh, yeah. …Sorry." The apology was tacked on at the last minute, in case Riku suddenly decided to get all 'attack dog-y' and lay into Roxas for insulting an aspect of his precious Sora. Not that Roxas necessarily subscribed to the whole 'Riku/Sora' theory or anything (Damn Axel for putting those unwanted thoughts into his head!), but Riku could still get pretty protective, regardless.

"Nah, it's alright, I know he sucks –" Roxas twitched a little. "– at making food that's actually _edible_. I mean, seriously, I love him and all, but I'd usually rather starve than let him fix me anything to eat."

LOVE?! Did Riku just say he _loved_ Sora? _GAH! Bad brain!_ Roxas admonished. _He just meant it in the platonic, affectionately **friendly** way! Nothing else!!_

"Hey guys, what's going on?" a loud, annoying voice suddenly cut in, interrupting the blonde's thoughts.

"Nothing, Axel." Roxas replied, rolling his eyes. Geesh, did that kid have to get involved in _everything_?

"Oh. Okay. Cause it looked like you and femmy-hair were getting pretty darn cuddly over here, was all. Mmm, Riku/Rox – OW!"

As Axel recoiled from the smack to the head that Roxas had bestowed upon him, the blonde indulged himself in a self-satisfied smirk. Roxas – defending people's sanity from disturbing pairings since… a few days ago. Hm, he was going to have to work on his slogan.

"Okay guys!" Sora suddenly announced, shoving bowls at everyone and standing next to the cooking pot with a ladle, looking quite proud of himself. "Lunch is ready!"

Everyone stepped forward, cautiously daring to glance into the pot's treacherous depths. Roxas blanched. What in the name of all that was good and holy was _in_ there?! A thick, brownish, broth bubbled ominously, chunks of… _something_… (possibly meat? vegetables? Roxas wasn't sure)… floating around as Sora stirred.

"Well come on guys, hold out your bowls before it gets cold!"

"Um…" Roxas began, not quite sure how to word what he wanted to say in a non-offensive manner. "What exactly _is_… 'it'?"

"Soup, duh!" Sora replied, happily grabbing Roxas's bowl and slopping some of the 'soup' into it before handing it back, beaming widely, and proceeding to do the same for Axel and Riku.

"What _kind_ of soup?" Axel questioned, not usually one to care too much about what he was ingesting, but still having enough sense to at least have a grasp of what food group it technically belonged in. Food group or… in this case… _species._

"Really _good_ soup!" Sora elaborated. "My special Magic Lake Soup a la Mystery! Eat it, It's really good I promise!"

"Uh huuuuuh…." Axel replied, not really seeming to be reassured by this clarification. "Hey Roxas…" He whispered, nudging the blonde in the ribs. "I think something in my bowl just _moved_." Roxas's eyes widened in horror.

Dumping a large portion of the mystery soup into his own bowl, Sora eagerly went to sit back down in the chairs by the fire pit, digging in with enthusiasm. Roxas watched, waiting to see if any immediate ill effects overcame the brunette as a result.

"Come _on_ you guys! EAT!" Sora prompted, with such a happy expression that it guilt tripped everyone into at least sitting down and _pretending_ they were about to start in on their meal. In reality, Roxas merely stared down and stared into the depths of the ominous bowl of food, Axel simply swished his spoon around in the bowl, not actually making to lift the eating utensile to his lips, and Riku had taken to sneakily pretending to take sips, while secretly disposing of every spoonful by means of tipping it into a nearby bush.

"It's good, isn't it?" Sora inquired, beaming at Riku.

"Uh… huh…" Riku managed, giving Sora a shaky grin. "Really good." Unfortunately, Sora didn't look away after Riku's affirmation, but instead continued to simply beam at his friend, waiting for the silver haired teen to take another bite. Letting out a nervous laugh, Riku lifted the spoon to his lips, looking like he was hoping to hell Sora was going to look away so that he could go back to dumping it into the bush. However it seemed as though Sora planned on doing nothing of the sort, wanting to watch Riku eat the meal he had prepared. So Riku diligently parted his lips, a pained expression on his face as he scrunched his eyes and nose up in anticipated disgust.

Roxas had to admire Riku's loyalty to Sora, that he would allow that foul looking concoction to pass his lips. But pass them it did, and with a very funny look, Riku swallowed. _Poor guy…_ Roxas mulled. _If only he wasn't such a good friend, this never would have happened to him. Good thing **I **couldn't care less about making Sora happy._

Suddenly, with that same weird expression, Riku turned back to Roxas and Axel, possibly to say his last words. ("…don't….eat…the soup…") an he opened his mouth to speak, almost looking like he didn't even know what he was going to say.

"You guys…" he finally got out, looking dumbfounded. "It's… it's really good…"

"LIES!!!" Axel immediately retorted, abruptly standing and pointing an accusing finger in Riku's direction. "LIES! THE SOUP FROM HELL HAS TAMPERED WITH HIS BRAIN!" Sora looked a little confused at this. For all he knew, everyone had been enjoying the meal he made for them up until this point.

"No, I'm serious!" Riku insisted. "Just try it!"

"Whaaaaa?" Sora confusedly questioned. "Riku, he's _been_ trying it."

"Oh no you don't!" Axel shot back to Riku. "Sora might have guilt tripped _you_ into ingesting this vile concoction, but there's no way you're tricking _me_ into it!"

"V – vile?" Sora questioned, lower lip quivering as he started to feel like there was something going on that he was seriously missing out on.

"Axel." Riku said in a level tone, conveying through his narrowed gaze that he had no problem taking violent measures to get his way with this. "Just. Try. The soup."

Uh-oh! It was the domineering, you're-gonna-do-what-I-say,-and-you're-gonna-LIKE-it tone! Roxas almost felt bad for Axel.

Almost.

…But not really.

Riku's head swiveled, fixing his gaze on Roxas now. "You too."

Damn. Looks like if Riku was going down, he was going to be taking the whole ship, crew, and every last passenger and stowaway with him.

Shakily raising an eyebrow at Axel (there's nothing like facing death-by-soup for bringing enemies together), Roxas spooned up a potion of his soup and reluctantly lifted it to his lips. Taking a deep breath, Roxas said his last prayers and downed it all in one gulp so as to not prolong the… the…

Hey, Riku was right. This stuff _was_ pretty good.

"Holy crap!" Axel burst. "This stuff is really good!"

"I _told_ you!" Sora put in. "Geeze, what took you guys so long? You've been eating it for like five minutes already and you _just now_ realized that it's good?"

"Uh… yeah." Riku explained. "I guess it… took it a while to sink in."

"What's in here?" Roxas asked, still trying to grasp the fact that Sora had made something that was not only _edible_, but was actually _good._

"Pretty much everything we had left from our food supplies!" Sora happily supplied. Roxas choked on another mouthful of soup at hearing this.

"What do you _mean_ 'pretty much _everything_ we had left'?" the blonde spluttered. "Sora, we still have another three or four DAYS left out here!"

"Wait…" Axel shakily said, joining the conversation. "You mean… there's no food left? WE'RE GOING TO STARVE?!"

"No way, guys!" Sora laughed. "We'll be fine! All we have to do is go into town and stock up on groceries!"

"Sora, it's a two day hike back into the camping grounds." Riku pointed out, sounding entirely too calm, given the situation. "And even then it's a ways more to get to any sort of grocery store."

"And all they had back there was that dinky little camp store run by the bumpkins who own the campground!" Axel wailed at the prospect of having to live off of 'campground food'.

"Guys, guys! It's fine!" Sora assured them as he stood up to go put away his bowl.

"Sora, having no food isn't _fine_." Roxas growled.

"Well duh!" Sora giggled. "That's why we're going into town! If you follow the little trail over there it's only about a thirty minute round trip depending on how fast you walk."

The rest of the group deadpanned at this, not quite knowing how to respond. Roxas was the first to recover, however, and asked the burning question that was on everyone's mind.

"Sora… are you saying that there's a town right near here?"

"Yep!"

"…okay… So then why didn't we just _START THERE?"_

Roxas really hoped Sora had a good explanation for this. If they had just _started_ in the town that was supposedly so close by, instead of staying in the campgrounds and taking a _two day_ hike through the woods, so much of the living hell Roxas had experienced over the last few days could have been avoided entirely. Not having gotten borritoed in a rickety little tent, or forced to play stupid question games, or lost in the woods, or suffered hypothermia, or _cuddled with AXEL!_

Oh yes, Sora had better have a darn good explanation as to why he had been forced to endure all of that.

OR ELSE.

"Because it was more FUN this way!"

Fun? _FUN!?_ How on earth could Sora consider everything that had happened so far 'fun'!? That was it, Roxas was going to wait until Riku the guard dog had dropped his guard, and then he was going to KILL the delusional brunette and his ideas of 'fun'.

**.x.X.x.**

Grumblingly allowing himself to be dragged down the little street of what he had discovered was a small tourist town, Roxas still couldn't believe that Sora had dragged them through two _days_ of wilderness when they could have just taken the thirty minute walk from this little town to where their camp was currently situated.

Oh right. That wouldn't have been as _'fun'_.

"Okay, so how about you guys get the food, Riku and I can re-stock on all the other stuff we need, like gas for the stove and lanterns, and maybe a tarp in case it rains or something. We'll meet back up at camp, okay?"

"Sure, whatever." Roxas grumbled as he watched Sora grab onto Riku's wrist and drag the silver haired teen off down the street.

"And there they go again, running off together." Axel said as he smirked, giving Roxas a meaningful look.

"Shut it, Axel." Roxas snapped back, heading off in the direction of where he could see a large "Grocery" sign down the street.

"… _Alone_."

"I said shut up."

"Alone and _together._"

"AXEL!!"

"…"

"_Thank_ you."

"Mmm… Sora/Riku."

"THAT'S IT!"

Roxas made a valiant attempt at leaping at Axel, but unfortunately was easily sidestepped, and then pulled back and restrained by a pair of thin, but surprisingly strong arms.

"Now now, Roxie, play nice."

"I'll show _you_ 'play nice'…" Roxas grumbled, stalking off in a huff in the general direction of the grocery store.

Upon entering the air-conditioned grocery mart, Roxas was immediately bombarded by the fact that this appeared to be a hokey little excuse for a store, and they were going to be extremely lucky if they could find even one item that they had in mind. Nothing seemed to be arranged in an order that made any sort of sense, and there was (for reasons Roxas would probably never know, and couldn't even begin to fathom) an entire isle dedicated to bagels and other such bread-like products. But it was civilization – four sturdy walls and a roof overhead, no bugs or dirt or trees – and for that Roxas was thankful. Suddenly the blonde was struck with a thought, and as silly and nostalgic as it might have been, he was determined to pursue it.

"Axel, go grab some food, I'm going to go find the bathroom."

"Why?" Axel asked, glancing up from the packet of artificial cheese puffs that he had been reading the back of. Roxas found this to be an extremely stupid and pointless question, but chose to answer it anyways.

"Why do you _think_? I have to pee, and I'd like to take this advantage to do so on or in something that isn't a tree or a rock in the woods. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"I'm coming too!" Axel announced, following after Roxas, who had started heading for the back of the store.

"Why? It's not a two-person event." He pointed out. However, it seemed as though Axel was determined to follow after him like some big dumb puppy, intent on making Roxas's life as annoying and complicated as possible.

Unfortunately for Roxas's bladder, it turned out that the store didn't have a bathroom of any sort, and so the blonde and Axel made their rounds of the store, picking out whatever they thought was fit to bring back to camp, Roxas grumbling all the while. It looked like his next bathroom date would be with the unfortunate inanimate objects of the wilderness after all.

"Man, could you believe that place?" Axel questioned as they exited the store. "I mean, they had like all this random stuff nobody actually even needs, but they didn't even have a bathroom." At this the redhead turned back to face the little establishment, shaking his fist at it. "Oh yeah, you stupid store? How about we PEE ON YOUR BAGELS, HUH? HOW DO YOU LIKE _THAT_?!"

Heading back down the street, Roxas was trying his very best to block out Axel's insane ranting and pretend he didn't know the crazy redhead when Axel suddenly burst out "HOTDOG STAND!" and sprinted off in the direction of a little umbrella-ed cart a little ways down the street. Sighing, Roxas figured he would have to follow after him, seeing as Axel had half the groceries, and after the little 'creek incident' he didn't really trust Axel to take care of his share of the belongings, whatever they may be.

"…and can I get extra relish, extra chili and onions, no cheese unless it's swiss, a couple of those little jalapenos peppers –"

"Axel!" Roxas cut in, frowning. "What the heck are you doing?" Axel paused in his order to turn around and look at Roxas, sending him a grin.

"Getting a snack."

Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. But make it quick, we still have to lug all of this stuff back to –"

"Axel? AXEL! Is that really you?"

The fiery haired teen's head snapped in the direction of the voice at the same time as Roxas's, a look of confusion on his face for about .05 seconds before it dissolved into an expression of utmost delight and recognition.

"OH MY GOD! DEMYX! ZEXION! What are you guys _doing_ here?!"

Roxas watched as Axel let go of his groceries, letting them drop to the ground with a dull, rustling thump, and ran up to two teenage males the blonde had never seen before in his life. The one that has so enthusiastically called out was a dirty blonde with some sort of bizarre mullety faux-hawk hairstyle that both confused and slightly irritated Roxas. He wore a bright blue, sleeveless hoodie over a black tee-shirt with a pair of khaki Capri pants and some bright red shoes. A pair of large earphones, attached to a beat up CD player he held in one hand , hung around his neck, getting a bit in the way as he launched himself at Axel for an all-encompassing hug. The other new arrival was a rather sullen and pouty looking male, dressed in a long black trench coat despite the warm weather, his hair cut in such a way that it covered nearly one entire half of his face. For the life of him, Roxas couldn't figure out what colour he wanted to call it. Blue-ish silver maybe? Perriwinkle? Whatever it was, it just _screamed_ "look at me, I'm a girly emo boi who sits at home alone in the dark and listens to whiny music and cries emo tears!" Pfft. Lame.

"We've rented a cabin with some of the guys, it's a little ways up the road from here!" Demyx said in answer to Axel's question, drawing Roxas out of his observations. "We only just got here a day or two ago, it was really last minute! I tried calling you like a million times, but you never picked up!"

"Yeah, I've been camping out for the last couple days, I don't have a phone with me or anything…" Axel replied "But this is so cool! How long are you guys gonna be around?"

"Until the end of the week!" Demyx answered, as it this were the greatest news in history. "Where are you staying, is it far from here? Cause you totally have to stop by and hang out!"

"Definitely…" Axel said, sounding a bit distracted, as if he was thinking something over. "Hey, you know what, I'm not really doing anything right now, think I could crash your party for a bit?"

"Sure!" Demyx replied, nodding excitedly. "We were just heading back ourselves, come on!"

"Okay, cool!" Axel responded. Roxas cleared his throat lightly, hoping to get the redhead's attention. Um… _hello_? Wasn't he forgetting something? Like… oh… the fact that they still had to get back to camp with the groceries? And the fact that Roxas existed. Hearing the blonde's cough, Axel whirled around, looking a bit confused for a second – as if he really _had_ forgotten Roxas was there – before sending him a brilliant grin.

"Hey Roooxie…" _Oh, don't you pull that cutsey stuff on **me**!_ Roxas's brain warned as he sent the taller male a death glare of epic proportions. Of course Axel couldn't hear Roxas's brain, so he continued on, oblivious to the deadly brain waves being sent his way. "I'm gonna head off with these guys for a bit, okay? Tell Sora and Riku for me, alright?" Roxas opened his mouth to snap out an indignant reply, but was cut off by Axel taking this for a 'yes' and assuming that everything was hunky-dory. "Okay, thanks! See you later!"

Axel and Demyx immediately turned to head off down the street in the direction of the cabin, chatting at a hundred miles an hour. Zexion sent Roxas one last, lingering look, as if trying to interpret the situation at hand, before simply turning on his heel and following after them. Roxas was at a loss of words. He'd always known that Axel was oblivious and self-centered ever since he met him, but this… this actually kind of… No! Roxas would _not_ be hurt. He had nothing to be hurt _about_. It wasn't like he actually _cared_ that Axel had chosen to go hang out with some other people instead of him, and not even given introductions, and had totally ignored him… No, he was just irritated that Axel had taken off and left him with all of the responsibility fro getting the groceries back to camp, and leaving him to relay the message of where he had run off to and who he had run off with to everyone else. That was all.

Huffily grumbling to himself, and feeling quite put out, Roxas bent to pick up the other half of the groceries, struggling to accommodate the extra, bulky packages in his arms.

"Excuse me."

Roxas stood up to look to whoever had addressed him, only to find that it was the hotdog stand guy. The words were said with attempted customer/worker etiquette, but the tone behind them made Roxas feel like he was one wrong step away from getting annihilated if he didn't answer back properly and in a timely fashion.

"Yeah?"

He got a glare for his questioning of the situation. Well _excuuuuuse_ him for not knowing exactly what this guy wanted. He considered sending a glare back at the guy, or possibly commenting on his long silver tresses that had been tied back (obviously as some sort of vendor regulations), but the icy glare he was getting was enough to make him double think that course of action. Yeah, on second thought this guy didn't look like someone to be messed with, even if he _was_ just the hotdog vendor guy.

"Your friend ordered some food and left without paying."

_Yeah so?_ Roxas thought. What did this guy (Sephiroth? Roxas read from the nametag stitched onto his shirt. What the heck kind of a name was _that_?) want _Roxas_ to do about it? However, after a few minutes of a staredown and a couple pointed looks to the cash register, Roxas finally got the hint that this guy wanted him to pay for the food that _Axel_ had ordered.

"What, wait, this isn't my food! I shouldn't have to –"

"Look, I don't care who ordered it, I just want it paid for."

Roxas thought about arguing further with the guy, but figured it'd be fighting a loosing battle. "Fine. How much is it?"

"Twenty seven dollars."

"WHAT?!" Roxas burst, jaw dropping. "What the hell, how the heck is a hot dog twenty seven dollars!?"

"_One_ hot dog isn't." The man replied, and Roxas suddenly it clicked.

"…okay then… just how many hotdogs did Axel try to order?"

"Ten."

"TEN!? What the hell does Axel need _ten_ hotdogs for!?"

"Look kid, I _really _don't care, I just want them paid for."

Muttering curses under his breath, Roxas pulled out his wallet, forking out the cash before hefting up the grocery bags once more and starting off back to camp, where Sora and Riku were probably waiting, wondering what was taking so long. Roxas allowed a sigh to escape as he looked back over his shoulder and down the road in the direction he had last seen Axel wandering off in.

It looked like he'd be making the return trip back alone, without any of the constant babbling and teasing and fighting… in other words, very much without Axel.

**.x.X.x.**

After a very long, tiresome, and unnaturally quiet walk, Roxas finally arrived back at camp, setting his bags down near the cooking area. He could see some rope, a new axe, and other necessary odds and ends piled up a few feet away, and concluded that Sora and Riku must have made it back before him. Hmmpf, no surprise there. However, it was strange that he couldn't see or hear either of them, because normally Sora would be running around like an idiot with Riku by his side. But right now neither of them were in sight, and Roxas felt his stomach drop with a tinge of dread. Had something bad happened to them? They obviously had made it back to camp in one piece, but then what?

Suddenly a giggle was emitted from the general area of Sora and Riku's tent, and Roxas sighed in relief, only to then have all of his fears come back tenfold a split second later. Sora _never_ wanted to be cooped up inside on a day like this. What the heck were they doing in there? Certainly not… Sora/Riku-y type things…. right? RIGHT?! Dear God, Axel was really starting to effect the way the blonde thought. Cautiously, and ready to avert his eyes at the slightest sign on indecent activities, Roxas crept over to the tent, daring to peek though the flap only to find…

"Nope! No twos! Go fish!"

…Sora and Riku were playing a card game.

Riku went to grab a card from the messy pile between them, and Sora looked up, sending Roxas a bright grin. "Hey! You're back! How did shopping go? …Where's Axel?"

"He ran off with some friends he met up with." Roxas informed the brunette, inviting himself in and sitting down crosslegged on the floor. Normally he would have just left the two of them to their card game, but right now he felt like he wanted some company. The walk back had been a rather lonely one, and not that he would ever admit to missing Axel, but Roxas was left feeling a little needy for human interaction at the moment.

"Oh, okay then." Sora replied before shifting his attention back to his cards, as if Axel running off with _other_ friends was no big deal. "Riku, do you have any elevens?"

"No I don't, go fish."

"Darn." Sora muttered, grabbing at the pile until he found a satisfactory card to add to his hand.

"Got any eights, Sora?" Riku asked, not looking up from his hand.

"Heehee, nope!" Sora giggled, sticking his tongue out at Riku. "Go fish!"

Roxas sat there for a few more minutes before coming to the conclusion that not only were Sora and Riku the two worst 'Go Fish!' players ever born, this was also one of the most boring ways to pass the time that he could think of.

"So… this is what you guys do all day when we're not here?" he asked after Sora's fifth 'go fish' in a row.

"Yup, pretty much!" Sora replied. "…or sometimes we play Pattycake."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at Riku, who didn't even bother looking up from his cards to confirm or deny this.

"Sora, do you have any sevens?"

"Nope! Go –"

"Yeah, okay I'm gonna go jump off a cliff." Roxas announced in a deadpan voice, standing up and leaving.

"Okay, have fun!" Sora called out after him, and Roxas rolled his eyes. The brunette probably hadn't even listened to a word he said.

As Roxas's footfalls moved further and further away, Sora strained his ears for any signs that he would be coming back anytime soon. Hearing none, he messily threw his cards off to one side before giggling and launching himself at Riku, who caught him easily and flipped him over, pinning him to the floor with a smirk.

"Finally! I thought he'd _never_ leave!"

**.x.X.x.**

Roxas pouted as he wandered around the lake's edge, kicking at sticks and the like as he walked. Stupid Axel. Not that Roxas _cared_ or anything, but what made those friends so much better to hang out with, huh? And…and for all Axel knew, maybe they were lying! Maybe they hadn't really rented a cabin after all, but had just made that up as an excuse to drag him out in the woods so they could like… oh who knows! Beat him up or something. And what about Sora's party? Didn't Axel realize it was a little _rude_ to just run off with someone else and abandon the birthday boy?

At this point Roxas stopped, knowing he was just making stuff up. After all, if he'd had any sort of excuse or choice in the matter, he would have run off and ditched Sora's party a _loooong_ time ago.

But… but Axel had still made him pay for all those hotdogs, and Roxas had been forced to carry all the groceries back on his own! So Axel was still a jerk. Sitting down by the lake's edge, he picked up a rock and attempted to skip it, but all it did was land with a pathetic, mocking 'plunk' before sinking. Roxas frowned. Even the rocks were against him.

As evening approached, Sora and Riku finally emerged from their tent to set up a fire before it got too dark out. Heaving a sigh and standing up, Roxas walked back over to the main camp area and flopped down beside the fire pit. Axel still hadn't come back. And not that Roxas was _worried_ or anything, but it was going to be difficult for the fiery haired teen to find his way to camp if he didn't get back soon. Once it got dark the woods were hard to navigate, and everything looked different at nighttime. But again, it wasn't as if Roxas _cared_ or anything. It was just… an observation. That was all.

"Hey guys!"

Roxas's head snapped in the direction of where the shout had come from – only one person's voice could catch his attention that quickly, and stir up so much annoyance in such a short period of time.

"Axel!" Sora greeted, bounding over and hugging him. "You're back! How were your friends?"

"Oh, they were great!" Axel replied after Sora had released him. "They have this _amazing_ cabin that they're staying in, with a huge fireplace and rec. room and TV and all that, it's great! Dem is so freaking hilarious – he and Zex were the ones who planned everything – and he like… ah, Nevermind, you'd'uv have to have been there. But it was great!I'm actually going back to hang out with them, I just needed to stop by and get some of my stuff!" Axel informed him, heading off in the direction of the tent.

"What!?" Roxas exclaimed. "At this time of night!? Axel, it's going to be completely dark soon! You can't just go wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night! What if you loose the trail or – "

"Yeah, thanks _mom_ but I think I'll be okay." Axel interrupted with a smirk. Furrowing his brows and pouting, Roxas followed after him back to the tent, refusing to let it drop.

"I'm serious!" The blonde told him, stepping into the tent and watching Axel root through his bag to grab a couple things. "You shouldn't go back tonight! Heck, if you can get us both lost in the middle of the day, then I really don't think it's a good idea for you to be –"

"God, Roxas – chill out!" Axel cut in, sounding amused more than anything, a fact which only served to further Roxas's annoyance. "Stop nagging me, I'll be fine. It's not that far, even if it is in the dark."

"But the trail –"

"Will still be there in the dark." Axel said with a roll of his eyes, producing a flashlight to thrust in Roxas's face. "And if I bring a light such as this one I'll be able to see it."

Darn it, Axel was smarter than Roxas had suspected. This put a monkey wrench in his plans. "But… but what about later, when you come back?" Roxas pointed out. Geesh, he sure got naggy when he was trying to stop someone from doing something he thought was stupid and/or irresponsible. "It'll be even later then and –"

"Oh, I'm not coming back tonight." Axel informed him, going back to digging through his stuff. "I'm gonna crash at their place. I'll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon or something."

"Oh…" Roxas said, trailing off and not really knowing what more to say.

"So yeah!" Axel continued, zipping up his bag and setting back on his heels, ruffling Roxas's hair. "Don't miss me too much! See ya tomorrow!"

And with that Axel was gone, rushing out of the tent to go back to his other friends and their amazing, expensive, and infinitely more cool and exciting cabin, leaving Roxas alone. The blonde sat there for a minute, trying to sort everything out in his head – what he was thinking and feeling – but it made his chest constrict in an oddly painful way that he didn't really want to acknowledge or think about, so he laid himself down, pulled the covers up, and tried to think about anything else he could.

Scrunching his eyes up and letting out a forlorn sigh he would never admit to, Roxas curled up in a little ball and faced away from the still open tent flap and Axel's side of the tent. Maybe if he tried hard enough he could pretend that it wasn't so dark, and he wasn't alone, and Axel wasn't a jerk who he really didn't care about, but who he for some reason couldn't help but keep dwelling on.

When Sora stopped by a little later to ask why he hadn't come back to the fire, all Roxas offered him was an irritated 'fuck off' as he curled tighter into his little ball. Sora had left, but Riku had come by later, before retiring back to his own tent with Sora. He hadn't said anything, but Roxas had known he was there. The silver haired teen had zipped up the door before he left to keep out any bugs or wild animals, and murmured a parting 'goodnight' before leaving. It pissed Roxas off, that Riku was probably pitying him. But Roxas didn't care that Axel had left – that asshole – he just didn't like being ditched, or knowing that people were doing stupid things. It wasn't like he was feeling lonely or abandoned or anything. And he certainly wasn't missing the loud, obnoxious chatting that always seemed to be endlessly forthcoming as he was trying to go to sleep.

Nope, it was nothing like that.

And it certainly had nothing to do with Axel.

**.o.O.o.**

Happy New Years Eve! I've been so busy lately with the holiday season and whatnot, but I really wanted to fit in one last chapter post before the end of the year! Oh Axel, you jerk – ditching Roxas like that. XD

ANYWAYS, I don't have much to say this time around, but I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! I hope you all have a fun and save New Years Eve, and that the coming year is a great one!


	11. A Kiss From The Odd Man Out

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: sandwich

Suggested beverage: freezing cold water

Suggested listening: "All By Myself" – Eric Carmen

**.o.O.o.**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 11: A Kiss From The Odd Man Out**

-o-

Why did mornings at this place always have to be so bright and cheerful when all Roxas wanted to be was sullen and irate?

This was the first thought that entered the blonde's mind upon waking – that everything was too damn bright and happy. The world was a freaking beautiful, _wonderful_ place, alright. And yet somehow Roxas couldn't suppress the desire to climb the tree right outside his tent and personally strangle every single happy little twittering bird that resided in it's branches.

Groaning as he rolled over, Roxas experienced the slightly disgusting feeling of waking up in the same clothes that were worn the previous day. Eyuck. Feeling exceptionally uncomfortable and gross, Roxas made quick work of stripping off his wrinkled t-shirt and pants in exchange for his swimtrunks that were laying in the corner. Pulling them on and grabbing a towel on his way out with the intention of quietly sneaking past whatever Sora and Riku were doing and taking a quick dip in the lake, Roxas peeked his head out of the tent and looked around. Finding neither one of his camp-mates in sight, Roxas slipped out of the tent and headed down to the water.

It was then that he discovered that it was actually a lot earlier than he had initially thought it was. Apparently this particular morning had decided to dawn brighter than usual, but the lingering cold from the previous night was still lingering around in full force. Grimacing at the prospect of immersing himself in what was most likely to be a freezing cold lake, Roxas sealed his resolve with the argument that it was the closest to a shower as he was going to get, so he might as well just take it like a man and get it over as fast as possible.

However, when hitting freezing cold lake water after a stupidly brave flying leap, facing it like a man can sometimes be the furthest thing from one's mind, let alone one's control.

Screaming like a little girl being attacked by rabid bunnies, Roxas floundered back to shore, cursing whatever freaking _idiot_ had originally come up with the concept of 'getting it all over with at once'. Because whatever anyone might say, _no one_ was ever again going to be able to convince Roxas that the concept was applicable to getting into a freezing cold lake first thing in the morning.

Roxas barely registered Sora popping his head out of his tent flap to see what on earth was going on as the blonde skittered back to his own tent, wrapping his towel around himself and diving back into the warmth of his bedding. Nothing like a cold shower (or a break-of-dawn dip in the lake, for that matter) to wake a guy up in the morning.

A few minutes later when Roxas finally regained some of the feeling in his body, he dared to peek out from under the covers and rummage through his bag for clothes. Pulling out a pair of pants and the most depressing shirt he owned (a tight black t-shirt with the word 'nobody' written across the chest in grungy, fading lettering), Roxas pulled them on, along with his socks and shoes, before once again exiting the tent. This time Sora and Riku were out there, Riku setting up a pan of water over the fire to make oatmeal with, and Sora sitting happily nearby, sipping hot chocolate.

"Good morning Roxas!" He greeted, much like he did every morning – as if he hadn't seen the other for at least a month. "What were you doing up so early? Me and Riku were about to get up when we heard you screaming."

Roxas muttered a vague response to this, getting the main point of wanting to take a shower across, and set himself down by the fire, propping his chin up on his hands as he rested his elbows on his legs. Sora cast a nervous glance to Riku before turning his attention back to Roxas. Usually Roxas was snappy and rude in the mornings… or…well… all the time, actually, but that wasn't the point. The point was that currently Roxas was just being kind of out of it, and it was weird.

"So… how were you last night? I mean, without Axel in your tent and everythi –"

Roxas sent Sora a glare, effectively silencing the brunette, who tugged nervously at his sleep-mussed hair. Actually, it didn't really look too different from his regular hair, maybe just the tiniest bit fluffier, but Roxas digressed. He really didn't want to be thinking about that stupid, jerky redhead this early in the morning, especially after last night and yesterday afternoon in town.

"Roxas, do you want some breakfast?" Riku asked, holding out a bowl of oatmeal. The blonde pushed it away.

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh come on, Roxas, you gotta eat!" Sora whined. "I'm sure Axel will be back soon, but in the meantime –"

"Who said this was about that no-good, annoying traitor?" Roxas snapped.

"Roxas, he didn't really… betray you." Riku argued, rather reasonably, which kind of irritated Roxas. He hated when he knew he was being unreasonable and someone pointed that out to him. "He just wanted to hang out with his other friends for a bit. He said he'd be back."

"Yeah, well… who said I _wanted_ him back?" Roxas grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Okay, now he was just being pouty. This was getting ridiculous. Good thing it had NOTHING TO DO WITH AXEL, because that would certainly be weird. Riku sighed and went back to his breakfast.

Roxas continued to sit there as Sora started up a conversation with Riku, chatting about whatever flitted into his mind. Riku didn't seem to mind though, and in fact looked like he was actually enjoying the conversation, as silly as it might be. Roxas found himself unable to help but listen in, slightly envious of how close the two were, and how easily they got along and did things together. It made him feel a bit third wheel in their presence. Even though they weren't doing it on purpose or anything, Roxas still couldn't help but feel like the odd man out.

Standing up to go take a walk and leave Sora and Riku to their little 'friendship bonding time' or whatever, Roxas had just turned to leave when an enormous crashing came from the bushes and he whipped around just in time to see a fiery patch of red hair go crashing into the underbrush.

"I'm okay!" A voice called out, and for some reason it felt to Roxas as though it had been a _long_ time since that voice had been around… to get on his nerves, that is.

"AXEL!" Sora called out, grinning happily as he ran over to welcome the redhead back. Roxas scoffed – _he_ certainly wasn't going to be welcoming that jerk back with such open arms.

"Hey guys!" Axel called out, disentangling himself from the bush he had fallen into. "What's up?"

"Nothing, really!" Sora supplied. "We were just eating breakfast and stuff! Hey guess what? Earlier this morning…"

Uh oh. Roxas already didn't like where this was going.

"…Riku and I were just about to get up and start the fire and stuff when we heard this scream, and I looked out the tent and I saw Roxas running back to your guys's tent all soaking wet! He was the first one up today, and he even went in the lake!"

"Oh man, I _really_ missed out, didn't I? Did hell freeze over without me noticing or something?" Axel laughed.

Sora burst into laughter at this as well, and even Riku snickered a little. Roxas just glared.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny." He eventually put in, rolling his eyes. "Bet your friends just can't contain themselves around _you_."

Axel looked a little confused at this, and tilted his head to one side, scrutinizing Roxas and trying to decipher the comment and it's relevance to the situation. "Uh… I guess…?"

"Oh, don't mind him." Sora said, waving a hand dismissively before leaning in and stage whispering. "I think Roxas was just a little l-o-n… l-o-n-l… L-O-N-E-L-Y last night. He missed you."

"I WAS NOT!" Roxas burst, cheeks colouring. "And no I didn't! Stop making stuff up!"

Grinning apologetically, Sora scampered back to the fire and sat down by Riku. Oh, he was _so_ gonna get it later.

"Aw, really? Little Roxie _missed_ me?" Axel cooed, clasping his hands and lifting them to one side of his face while making cutsey faces at the blonde.

"No I didn't." Roxas insisted, looking down at his feet to hide his blush. Wy was he even doing that?! Stupid blood always picking the worst places to go at the worst possible times!

"Aw! Yes you did!" Axel burst, bounding forward and enveloping Roxas into an all-consuming hug. "I feel so loved!"

"What!? God, Axel, get off me! I didn't miss you!" Roxas spluttered, trying to bring his arms up and push at Axel's chest.

"Yes you did!" Axel maintained, nuzzling his face into Roxas's hair.

"NO I DID NOT! GRAH!" Roxas exclaimed, squirming for all he was worth and finally breaking free, moving away to a safe distance and panting from the exertion.

"Well that's too bad." Axel teased. "Because I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to come back with me and hang out, but if you didn't miss me last night, then I guess you're not invited."

Roxas narrowed his eyes at Axel, who was grinning like he was about to win something and _he knew it_, before turning to look back at Sora, who was practically in Riku's lap, chattering like an idiot, having gotten bored with watching Roxas and Axel's little display of bickering.

Hmm… what would be worse? Having to endure Axel and his friends, or having to sit around here again all day with Sora and Riku, whose most exciting planned activities probably included making daisy chains or something.

Axel…

…or Sora and Riku?

Civilization…

…or sitting around in the middle of the woods again all day, bored out of his mind?

Hmmm…

Decisions, decisions.

"Yeah, okay fine, I'll go with you." Roxas eventually grumbled, walking over to Axel but refusing to look up at him.

"That's a good boy." Axel chuckled, patting Roxas on the head before his hand was swatted away. "Anyone else want to come?"

"No thanks!" Sora chirruped. "Me and Riku were gonna do some stuff here today – we might go into town later though, or tomorrow or something! But you guys have fun!"

"Yeah. Fun." Roxas grumbled. Oh yes, he was certain that there was just oodles and oodles of fun in store for him in the immediate future. Except not.

The whole hike to town was, of course, filled with Axel's endless babbling, and Roxas's sarcastic replies, if he decided to give any at all. But for some reason… the blonde couldn't help but almost-smile when Axel wasn't looking. Not that he would _ever_, under pain of death, admit it, but…

…he had missed this.

.o.X.o.

"Hey guys!" Axel shouted out, the moment he entered the door of the cabin (having kicked in the door, B&E style), Roxas trailing uncertainly after him. Roxas had never been very good in social situations, especially with people he didn't know. He was starting to wonder if this had been such a good idea after all…

"Axel!" A chorus of voices answered, no one actually getting up to meet him at the door.

"Hey, who did you bring with you?" the dirty blonde that Roxas recognized from yesterday called out.

"Guys, this is Roxas!" Axel introduced, beaming and puffing his chest out as if he were presenting a prize-winning showdog or a special new toy. "He's gonna hang out with us today so Sora and Riku can have some aloooone time." Axel accompanied this comment with a wink, and everyone laughed.

"Nice to meet you, Roxas." Demyx said politely as Axel led Roxas to the large couch everyone was sitting around. Roxas wanted to point out that technically they had met before, but Axel was too busy being a jerk at the time to properly introduce them then, but refrained. "Wanna play?" Roxas took the time to look at what Demyx was pointing at, and saw that a video game that seemed to mostly involve blowing things up was being played, the controllers held by the emo kid from yesterday and some blonde, seemingly antennae'd, girl he didn't recognize. "After Zexion and Larxene finish beating this level we were gonna switch off."

"Um, thanks, but no." Roxas answered. Not that he wasn't confident in his video gaming skillz, he just didn't really know anyone yet and was therefore hesitant to do anything that might put him in the spotlight.

"Okay then, in that case me and Marly have got the next round!"

"What!?" Axel responded, sounding like he had just been cheated out of something he wanted. "No fair!"

"Quit whining, Axel" The blonde girl told him from her position on the floor in front of the couch, not looking away from the screen. "You weren't here to claim the next round, so Dem and Marly beat you to it. Get over it."

Wondering who this Marly was, Roxas looked around to see who they kept referring to. The name sounded like it belonged to a pet of some kind, but Roxas spotted someone at the far end of the couch that had yet to be introduced, so he assumed that was the person the name belonged to. Although… whether this person was a guy or a girl was beyond him. They had shoulder length layered hair that was the faded pinkish-red/brown colour of dried roses, and some sort of flowery design embroidered on the front of their shirt, both of which led him to the conclusion that the person was female…but in looking at the flowery design on the chest, Roxas couldn't help but notice that the chest was rather… lacking in the female chest accessories department.

"Figured it out yet?"

Roxas jumped, startled by the sudden question being posed so close to his ear – he hadn't even noticed Axel sneaking up on him. Although by now he really should have been expecting this kind of thing.

"What are you talking about?" he snapped back, turning to face Axel, who was only a couple inches away from his face, as always, grinning like he had a secret and was just waiting to spill it to Roxas.

"Oh come on, you've been staring at Marluxia for the past couple minutes, you're obviously trying to figure out if he's a guy or a girl." Axel replied, sounding smug.

"He?" Roxas echoed, turning away from Axel for a second to look back to Marluxia and check. "So… Marluxia is a guy then?"

"Yup!" Axel laughed, straightening up and folding his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner. "He's just girly."

"Hey! I heard that!" An indignant voice called out, and Roxas looked over to see Marluxia regarding them with a pouty scowl.

"Yeah, well, it's true." Axel replied, waving it off as he pushed Roxas back and into a sitting position. "Now come on Roxie, set your cute little butt down on the couch."

Roxas awkwardly stayed put on the couch, Axel settling down beside him, but his physical inclusion didn't seem to stretch anywhere past that. True, he was sitting there with everyone as they talked and laughed and played their games… but he didn't really feel… _included_. It was a rather awkward feeling, being alone within a group, and for the second time that day found himself as the odd man out. Except this morning with Sora and Riku he had at least _known_ the people he was playing third wheel to, here he was just with Axel and a bunch of other random people he didn't know or particularly care too much about.

Shifting uneasily as the attention in the room turned to Demyx, Roxas tried to follow along as he launched into some kind of a story.

"Okay, okay so!" the excited male started, waving his hands enthusiastically. "Just a couple days ago… I was standing… like… on the ground…"

_No really?_ Roxas's brain sarcastically remarked. _This is shaping up to be the greatest story ever told, alright! With a beginning like **that**…_

"And… and so, I was just out in the trees, right?"

"And they were growing out of the ground?" Roxas questioned, rolling his eyes. Axel elbowed him, hard. "Ow! Sorry! I was just _asking_!"

"Uh… yeah." Demyx said, seemingly thrown a little off track by Roxas's interruption. "Anyways! So I was just out there in the woods, right? And so all of a sudden I hear this noise! So like… I turned to see what it was, and…"

By this point Roxas wasn't even listening anymore. Demyx seemed to get tremendously fragmented and redundant when he was excited, and Roxas found it exceptionally annoying. He sat there while Demyx continued for a while longer, but when it became clear that everyone was thoroughly engrossed in what he was saying and it wasn't going to be over anytime soon he stood up quietly and left, shutting the door behind him on his way out with as little noise as possible. Not that they probably would have cared or noticed even if he'd left with a bang.

"Roxas?"

The blonde turned, looking back as he descended the steps to see Axel standing on the porch, watching after him with a confused expression. "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"Does it matter?" Roxas shot back, fighting down that same feeling of… NOT hurt that was constricting his chest.

"Well yeah!" Axel replied, looking confused. "You just got up and left in the middle of Dem's story! Where are you going?"

It almost sounded like he cared. For a second Roxas actually almost convinced himself that Axel really did care, and that he could go back in there and hang out and have a good time. Almost. But he knew it wouldn't actually work out that way – Axel was annoying and a pain and even though it was sometimes okay to be around that when it was being directed at him, Roxas didn't like being around it when it wasn't. Yes, he was an attention whore, but at least he admitted to it.

"It doesn't matter." He eventually replied, looking away. "Just… back to camp or something. Whatever. Just go back and hang out with your friends."

"But Roxas –"

"Whatever, Axel, I'm leaving."

"Roxas!"

But the blonde wasn't going to stick around to hear Axel out; he was tired of listening to the redhead's excuses. So, finishing his decent of the stairs, Roxas made his way back down the street and to the little trail that led back to camp. However, halfway there he paused, realizing that waiting back at that camp was Sora and Riku, probably being all cuddly and lame and stupid and Sora/Riku-y for all Roxas knew. Damn it! It was then, in a sudden burst of realization, that Roxas realized why he was so upset at Axel for running off on him… When he was alone with Sora and Riku he was…

Envious.

He was envious of what they had, but when Axel was around, he was so preoccupied with dealing with how annoyed he was by Axel that he didn't notice. With Axel gone all he had to do all day was hang around with them and be taunted by what he didn't have, and what he hated to admit he actually kind of wanted.

…Well this certainly sucked.

Eventually deciding to follow the tail most of the way back to camp so as to not get lost, Roxas left it as soon as he caught sight of the lake, wandering off in the opposite direction of where they had all of their tents and stuff put together. Vaguely he heard Sora's squealing and a splash as Riku threw him into the water, but Roxas didn't want to be involved. No, he'd much rather go off on his own and sulk somewhere.

Of course this eventually got quite frustrating, because there's really only so much sulking a little blonde boy can do in the middle of the woods by a lake on a bright summer day. It's just not the right environment for sulking, unfortunately. So eventually Roxas was forced to wander back into camp, not only because he couldn't sulk properly, but because he was also exceptionally hungry. Not eating can do that sometimes.

In the middle of fixing himself a sandwich, he was suddenly bombarded from behind and found himself enveloped in an enthusiastic and very _wet _bear hug, just barely managing to save his sandwich from being dropped from the impact.

"ROXAS!" Sora squealed. "You're back!"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Roxas grumbled back, resuming the task of spreading some peanut butter onto a slice of bread.

"How were Axel's friends?"

All Roxas offered in return was a scoff before he slapped his two pieces of bread-with-spread together and took a large angry bite out of his sandwich.

"Oh… okay then." Sora said, backing up, his theoretical ears flattening out and his imaginary tail going between his legs. It wasn't clear whether Roxas was imagining that sandwich as him or Axel, but the brunette wanted no part of the insinuated violence. Scampering off, Roxas was left alone once again, and he headed back to his tent, flopping down on the bedding and closing his eyes while letting out a heavy sigh.

**.x.X.x.**

When Roxas woke up he was disoriented for a moment, because the last time he checked, he could see. Blinking a few times and letting his eyes adjust he realized that it was pitch dark out, and there were no lights on in the tent. Just how late _was_ it? He couldn't even hear Sora and Riku talking by the fire. In fact, he was currently immersed in perfect sleeping conditions, despite the fact that he had just woken up in his day clothes – _again._

Quickly remedying the situation by stripping down to his boxers and climbing under the covers, Roxas was just pondering over what had woken him in the first place when he heard a snapping and crackling of branches right outside his tent. Immediately the blonde froze, terror gripping him in a suffocating grasp, cackling evily as Roxas began to hyperventilate.

Another crash, louder this time, and closer.

"H – hello?" Roxas dared to gasp, voice barely above a whisper. "Who's there?"

A sickening crunch was his only reply, and Roxas impulsively reached out and grabbed the closest thing to him – a rather lumpy pillow – and clutched it threateningly. "I'm w-warning you!" He whispered. "I'm armed!"

_Yeah right._ His brain mocked. _What are you gonna do, pillow fight them to death?_

"Shut up, brain!" Roxas whispered venomously, just as another crash came from outside, this one sounding rather like bushes getting into a violent fight with eachother.

"Shit, ow!"

Wait a minute… bushes didn't talk. At least not the last time Roxas had checked, they didn't. Not that he did random bush speaking-ability checks or anything, but that wasn't the point. And besides, he was pretty sure he recognized that voice.

Pausing for a second to think it over and come to a decision about what to do, he found himself calling out in a loud stage whisper "Axel? Is that you?"

"Roxas?" The voice answered. "Hey, keep talking, I can't find our tent."

"What the hell are you _doing_?" Roxas hissed. "Do you have any idea what _time_ it is?" Not that Roxas knew or anything, it just seemed like the appropriately cliché thing to say.

"No." Axel replied, shuffling over to the tent on the wrong side from the sounds of things. "Why, do you?"

"…no." Roxas admitted. "But it's really late! What the hell are you doing wandering around in the dark in the middle of the night? Where's your flashlight?"

"Dropped it." Axel answered, circling the tent in an attempt to find the front so that he could unzip the door and get in.

"So then why aren't you staying with your _friends_?" Roxas shot back, spitting out the last word in a rather nasty manner. "I'm sure they have lights in their fancy cabin."

"True…" Axel replied, sounding distracted as he fumbled with the zipper, eventually managing to get it open and fall face first into the tent, ending up sprawled across Roxas's legs. "But I missed ya!"

Roxas huffed at this disbelievingly, kicking Axel off of him and facing away, deciding that this conversation was over. Axel, however, seemed to have other plans.

"Hey, come on, didn't you miss me too?"

"No." Roxas replied, burying his face in the pillow. "Why would I miss you? I hate you. Shut up and go to sleep."

"Aw, Roxie, don't be like that…" Axel said, the words getting a bit mixed up as he struggled with pulling his shirt up and over his head, following that up with his pants. "You know you did."

"No I didn't." Roxas stubbornly insisted. "Why would I?"

"Because you liiiiike me." Axel informed him in a sing-song voice, and Roxas could _sense_ that smirk in the darkness, even if he couldn't see it.

"No I don't." Roxas shot back, pulling the covers up around him more securely.

Axel didn't respond right away, and Roxas hoped he was feeling hurt. Because gosh darnit, he deserved it, after everything he had put Roxas through. However it seemed that it would take more than being told he wasn't liked to completely crush Axel's persistently annoying nature, as evidenced by his next question.

"Come on, Rox, what's up?"

"Stop calling me all those weird nicknames – it's not cute, it's annoying."

"Fine then, _Roxas_." Axel started over, placing emphasis on the blonde's full, given name. "What's up? You've been acting really weird all day."

"No I haven't."

"Yes you have, yes you have, yes you have!" Axel happily chanted, diving under Roxas's blankets and grabbing the blonde around the middle and proceeding to attempt to tickle the living daylights out of him. With a yelp Roxas shot out, lashing out at Axel with whatever limbs he could disentangle enough to smack out with.

"Grah! AXEL! Cut it out!" He shouted out, trying to keep his voice down and not disturb the occupants of the other tent. "I'm not ticklish, what you're doing is just freaking _weird_!"

"What? I don't believe you!" Axel exclaimed, obviously having no volume control qualms of his own. "Everyone's ticklish!" With that he determinedly returned his hands to Roxas's sides, attacking them with renewed fervor to prove him point.

Roxas crossed his hands over his chest, squirming at the weird feeling of Axel's wandering fingers, but refusing to laugh or otherwise react in a ticklish manner. "You see? Not ticklish. So stop touching me and leave me alone." Rolling over again, Roxas tried to pull the covers back over him, but this time Axel came with them, settling himself on top of Roxas and resting his head in his hands, elbows resting on either side of Roxas's shoulders.

"AXEL! GET OFF ME!" Roxas burst, colour rising to his cheeks, a brilliant flush that he was sure Axel could feel the heat radiating from.

"No." Axel stubbornly answered, refusing to comply. "Not until you spill the beans about what's up."

That was the last straw. Roxas could only be pushed so far before he snapped, irritated so much before he lost it, and Axel had just successfully crossed his lines. Congratulations, Roxas would have to remember to give him a fucking trophy.

"Fine!" Roxas snapped. "You wanna know why I'm acting weird? It's because you _ditched me for those other friends, okay_? I don't like it! You annoy me and piss me off like no one else, but I kinda like the attention, okay? And while you were gone I had to deal with Sora and Riku being all fucking _cuddly_ and _friendly_ and it just made me incredibly _jealous_ because I don't have that kind of a relationship with anyone but I kind of _want_ one! And when I'd try to go off to sulk it was just too damn nice out, and all I could think about was you and I don't know why because I shouldn't care but I do anyways, alright? So there you go, I spilled my guts, you happy now?"

For a moment the only sounds in the tent were those of Roxas panting from saying so much all at once, and he was pretty sure his beating heart was audible as well from how loud it sounded in his own ears. But then Axel spoke, and the near silence was broken.

"You really mean that?"

Roxas averted his gaze, even though their faces were so close they were almost touching and they couldn't really see much in the dark anyways. At least Axel was taking him seriously, though. He wasn't sure how he would have reacted if Axel had decided to be an insensitive spaz-case and made a joke of his confessions. "Yeah, I meant it." He mumbled.

Again, it took Axel a moment to process this, but eventually he did work up a response. "HaHA!" he burst triumphantly. "I _knew_ it! You _do_ like me!"

So much for not being an insensitive spaz-case. "Yeah, whatever, I kinda like you or something. Now get off me so I can –"

"Roxas liiiiiikes me…"

"Axel, shut up."

"He wants to kiiiiiiss me…"

"No I do not! Stop singing!"

"He wants to loooooove me!"

"GRAH! AXEL!" Roxas was quite surprised that Sora and Riku weren't awake by now from the noise level their tent had reached. Even though the other two had their own tent pitched a good distance away, Roxas and Axel were still being pretty loud in the middle of the night.

"Aw, come on Roxie, you know it's true!" Axel chuckled, waggling an eyebrow suggestively.

"No it's not!" Roxas shot back, embarrassed. " I don't want to do any of those things, so just shut up and get off me. And I thought I told you to stop calling me those stupid cutsey nicknames!"

"Well I don't think I want to." Axel brattily replied, and Roxas was surprised that the redhead didn't go so far as to stick his tongue out to accompany the immature remark. Or maybe he did, but Roxas just couldn't see it in the all-comsuming darkness. "I think I'm going to stay right where I am and call you all the cutesy pet names I want." Here Axel paused for a second to shift slightly, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position on top of Roxas, who had for some reason not resorted to forcibly pushing him off. Yet. "So Roxie-foxie baby bunker boo, wanna tell me about how much you _luuuurve_ me some more!"

"No!" Roxas spat, wiggling a little.

"Aw, that's too bad, because I really like you!" Axel teased. "My little Rox in socks with a box of – "

With a frustrated growl Roxas surged forward, grabbing the back of Axel's head and pulling him down into a near violent kiss. If Axel was shocked he didn't show it for more than a second, because not a moment after their lips touched he was pressing himself against Roxas, quickly taking control of the kiss and running his tongue along Roxas's bottom lip as he slipped his hands up into the blonde's messy hair, giving an encouraging tug. Roxas gasped in surprise, giving Axel all the opportunity he needed to slip his tongue into the blonde's awaiting mouth.

Roxas let out a confused whimper, but didn't make to move away. Quite frankly, he wasn't quite sure what had just happened and was still stuck in slight shock. One minute he had been pissed as hell, snapping at Axel to shut up, and the next he had been initiating a game of tonsil hockey? What the heck kind of sequence of events was that? Right on cue, Axel's tongue did a sweep of Roxas's mouth before gently rubbing against the blonde's own. Moving the hand that wasn't still at the back of Axel's neck up to grab at the taller teen's shoulder, he clutched desperately, trying to hold on and grasp the situation at hand, both mentally and physically.

As Axel shifted again, pressing the rest of the length of his body flush against the blonde – effectively pinning the smaller male and conveying his intentions all at once – Roxas realized he had done a very stupid thing. He had yet again acted impulsively to get out of one situation, and landed himself in a _much_ more compromising one as a result. Really, now that he thought about it (as coherent as his thoughts could be with Axel trying to slip a knee in between Roxas's legs the way he was) he could have shut Axel up with a million different ways, or at least body parts. He could have slapped him, or kicked him, or smothered him with a pillow… heck, he could have employed the use of a spoon somehow and ended up in a less awkward situation than this! But of all the ways and body parts to choose from, he had chosen his _mouth_!

Axel let out a low growl, tugging at Roxas's bottom lip in a rather predatory manner. Gasping, Roxas pulled his hands back, pressing against Axel's chest in an attempt to push him back. It looked like he'd unleashed a dam, and if he didn't do something about it soon he was going to get in over his head. _Way_ over his head, if Axel was allowed to continue at the rate he was currently going.

"Axel..." Roxas attempted, turning his head to the side. The fiery haired teen was undeterred, however, and simply moved his mouth to the exposed column of Roxas's throat, biting gently before running his tongue soothingly over the very same area. "Nnn… Axel, hold on! Stop for a minute!"

"What?" Axel breathed, nipping at the dip in Roxas's throat.

"Axel…" Roxas tried again, panting. "H-hold on, okay? I… I, uh…" Roxas train of thoughts went off track and nearly derailed as Axel bit down on a particularly sensitive nap of flesh, sucking on it and most likely leaving a mark.

"A-AXEL!" Roxas shouted, a combination of a result of the sensation and his desperation to get through to the older male. With a sigh Axel released the skin of Roxas's neck with a sloppy, wet sound, moving back up to look him in the eye through the darkness.

"What?"

"I… I, uh…" Roxas stuttered, wondering where his usual collected and sarcastic exterior had fled to. "Um… isn't this a little sudden?"

"You started it." Axel replied in a low voice, nuzzling his nose into Roxas's soft hair near his ear. Roxas would have rolled his eyes at the childish remark if he had been in his right state of mind.

"Yeah, but… um… I didn't really _mean_ it…" he explained.

"What?" This time there was hurt in Axel's voice, and he drew back, trying to search Roxas's face for signs of what he meant by that.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Roxas quickly replied, setting Axel at ease. "I just… um… this is really… sudden. I hadn't really thought about it or anything."

"Oh…" Axel replied. "I see..."

"Not that I didn't like it!" Roxas babbled, realizing he just kept saying the wrong things and he should probably just shut up before he screwed things up even more. "Just… I dunno!" Flustered, he pushed out from under Axel, turning away and mumbling incoherently to himself, convinced that his blush was pretty much permanent by this point. For a minute or two neither of them said anything more, but then Axel gave a slight 'hm' which Roxas didn't quite know how to take until a pair of arms was wrapping around him and pulling him close. Sighing, Roxas allowed it and settled his head where Axel had tucked it into the crook of his neck. Tentatively he snaked his arm around Axel's chest, burying his head into the taller teen's shoulder in embarrassment. Axel hummed in contentment.

"Night Roxie."

Roxas made a small, noncommittal noise in response and scooted a little closer. He didn't know what the hell he had just gotten himself into… but for the moment he had to admit that he kind of enjoyed it.

**.o.O.o.**

YAY! Finally we get to the Axel/Roxas lovie stuff! X3 Oh Roxas, you emo little boy, you – we all knew you wouldn't be able to hold out forever!

So anyways! Hi again! How did you like the chapter? Haha, it's taken a while to get to this point but look! LOOK! Roxas finally caved! Sorta… XD Only one or two more chapters to go after this, but for now I hope everyone is pleased with the update! Um, have a nice day or something!


	12. Confusion Leads to Epiphanies

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Don't sue me!

For additional disclaimers, warnings, summary, pairings, and everything else see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: snowcone

Suggested beverage: sodee-pop

Suggested listening: "I Drive Myself Crazy" - N'Sync

**.o.O.o.**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 12: Confusion Leads to Epiphanies**

-o-

Roxas was feeling very tangled.

And not just the usual waking-up-in-the-morning-tangled-up-in-the-sheets tangled, but really truly wrapped and bound. In his half-asleep haze he shifted uncomfortably, not quite sure how he had gotten into whatever weird position he was in, but wanting out of it.

That was when the tangles shifted _back_.

Eyes snapping open and suddenly feeling wide awake, Roxas gave a startled jolt, intending to sit up but finding himself completely unable to, due to the fact that Axel was completely around, on top of, and entwined with him all at the same time. Roxas had no idea how Axel had managed to not only wrap him into his arms, intertwine their legs, and lay on top of him all night without him noticing earlier, but now that he was aware of the situation he wanted out of it. _Now._

"Axel." Roxas hissed, nudging a shoulder at the still slumbering redhead. "Axel get off me!"

"Nnn…don'wanna." Came the mumbled reply as Axel buried his face in his pillow (which just so happened to be Roxas's neck), wrapping his arms tighter around the blonde. Flushing in embarrassment and irritation, Roxas attempted squirming out of Axel's hold, but to no avail. That idiot redhead was like some sort of freaky cuddling leech.

"God, Axel, let go of me! I can't feel my legs, _get off_." Actually, this wasn't entirely true, but Roxas's arms and legs were starting to get that uncomfortable tingling feeling that signaled the onset of one's appendages falling asleep. So really, he was just preemptively dealing with the issue.

"Mnn, fine." Axel mumbled, moving the tiniest little bit and not really doing anything to alleviate Roxas's current situation. However, that tiny bit of repositioning gave Roxas just enough space that he figured he now had a chance of freeing himself. Shifting and wiggling, he was almost able to break free when it became apparent that Axel's weight was still a little too much for him. Taking a deep breath, Roxas gave a sudden, violent squirm while simultaneously bucking his hips up to throw Axel's weight off of him. It probably would have worked if the latter movement hadn't shocked the redhead out of his nearly-asleep daze.

"Whoa!" Axel shouted, gazing down at Roxas with something like astonishment. The astonishment soon faded into a smirk, however, and Axel leered down at the blonde who was still partially trapped underneath him. "Well good morning to you to, Roxie. I've gotta say, I'm not accustomed to waking up to that particular method, but I think I could get used to it."

"Shut up." Roxas said with a glare, flushing in embarrassment.

"That's not what you said last night…"

"Grah! Axel, cut it out! I was just trying to get you off!"

"Oh? Well you gotta do that more than once if that's what you were trying to accompli –" Axel's remark was cut off as Roxas's palm smacked across his face, not hard enough to sting, but enough of a slap to shut him up.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it." Roxas mumbled, averting his gaze.

"Aw, you're so cute when you're flustered." Axel cooed, ruffling Roxas's hair affectionately.

"Okay, that's it." Roxas announced, shoving Axel off of him and moving away, quickly pulling on his clothes. Axel sat up, looking at him in confusion.

"Where ya going, Rox?"

"Away from here." Roxas grumbled. The atmosphere inside the tent was quickly becoming stifling and _way_ too disgustingly sappy for his liking.

"Roxas, wait!" Axel called out as Roxas hastily unzipped the door flap, stepping out into the crisp morning air and striding purposefully over to where Sora and Riku were making breakfast over the fire.

"You're awake!" Sora greeted, looking up from the mess of bacon, eggs and blueberry muffin that he had piled on his plate.

"We heard you guys arguing in your tent." Riku said with a smirk. "Do you guys _ever_ wake up or fall asleep on good terms?"

Roxas opened his mouth and was about to answer with a definite 'no' when a voice from behind him cut him off.

"Sure we do! Why just last night –"

"Stop talking, Axel." Roxas interrupted, not wanting Axel to spill last night's events to Sora and Riku first thing in the morning. Or ever.

"Aw, did he cuddle?" Sora cut in, grinning at the thought. "Cause Roxas likes to cuddle in his sleep. I remember when we were little and we used to have sleepovers he would always –"

"Yeah, okay, that's enough." Roxas snapped grumpily. "What is this, embarrass Roxas morning?"

"Every morning is embarrass Roxas morning!" Axel happily informed him, coming around from behind and wrapping his arms around Roxas, who was still standing.

_Flash!_

"Urghhh…" Roxas groaned, shrugging Axel off and burying his face in his hands. How on earth did Sora always manage to whip out his camera so fast, and at the most awkward, compromising moments?

"Oh, that's a good one!" The brunette announced, holding the camera out to Riku to show him. "Look how cuddly they look!"

Roxas was contemplating whether or not Sora would notice if his camera just randomly went missing one of these days, when he was suddenly was grasped by the hips and pulled down, his arms flailing wildly at the unexpected pull. The next thing he knew he was plunked into Axel's lap and held securely around the waist to prevent his escape. Another flash went off and Roxas seriously considered making a sudden lunge for Sora's camera and chucking it in the brunette's beloved lake.

"You guys want some breakfast?" Riku asked, effectively changing the subject and keeping a fight from breaking out.

"Sure!" Axel answered; shifting Roxas in his lap to reach out and grab the plate Riku was offering him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Roxas grumbled, moodily snatching at the proffered food.

Roxas was pretty sure he had never had a less enjoyable meal. Sure, Riku's food was great, just like everything else the silver haired teen did (_Stupid Mr. Perfect._ Roxas huffily thought. Not that he was _jealous_ or anything.), and sure it was a nice day out and he was among friends… but darnit if Axel didn't keep trying to freaking _cuddle_ him the whole damn time! When did Roxas ever give him permission to do that kind of thing, anyways?

…oh right. Last night.

But that still didn't mean he wanted it! Especially not in public like this! It was… it was clingy and annoying! In other words, it was extremely _Sora/Riku-like._ Roxas suppressed a shudder at the mere thought. And besides, he didn't even _like_ Axel like that! Well… the attention was kind of nice, and the kissing last night had been _reall_ – uh, KINDA nice, and sure Roxas was gonna castrate the next person who invited Axel to a cabin party when the redhead had a perfectly good tent party of his own he was already involved in, but… but that didn't mean he actually _liked_ Axel. Not like _that_.

"Hey Axel!" Sora's voice cut in, clear and innocent. "Are you going to be hanging out with your other friends today?"

Before Roxas even had the chance to decide if he wanted to be around Axel all day or if he might actually be better off with him out of his hair, Axel was already answering, making the decision for him.

"Nope! I'd rather stay here with Rrrrrroxas!" Wrapping his arms affectionately around Roxas and pulling the blonde back into a hug, Roxas was pretty sure this was going to be the most embarrassing day of his life.

**.x.X.x.**

As it turned out, everyone ended up going into town that day anyways. Sora had declared that as today was the last official day of their camping adventure, they were all going to go into town and buying souvenirs to remember the trip by. Roxas honestly didn't think that he needed any little 'Where the hell is Magic Lake?" bumper sticker for him to remember this trip, but he figured he was going to be dragged along anyways so he might as well not pitch a fit about it and make the whole ordeal worse than it was already likely to be.

"Riku, Riku, I want a snowcone!" Sora chanted as they walked down the main road, tugging on the hem of Riku's shirt.

"I don't think that's the best souvenir to pick." Riku laughed. "It's gone after you eat it."

"Yeah, I know." Sora giggled. "But I don't want it as my souvenir, I just want it in general."

"Okay." Riku relented, a fond smirk on his features as he allowed Sora to drag him off in the direction of the snowcone stand. Roxas rolled his eyes. Honestly, did Riku even realize that Sora had him wrapped around his little finger? Heck, did _SORA_ realize that he had Riku wrapped around his little finger? Either way, it was pretty sickening and causing Roxas to change his mind about giving in and subscribing to the whole 'Sora/Riku theory.'

"Should we follow them?" Axel asked.

"No." Roxas responded. "I don't want my teeth to rot out from the disgusting sugar-y sweetness."

Axel looked puzzled at this. "I don't think the snowcones are _that_ bad."

"I wasn't talking about the snowcones."

Apparently deciding not to ask, Axel grabbed the blonde by the shoulder, yapping on about something or another as he proceeded to drag Roxas into a nearby shop, the little bell above the door dinging happily as it announced their entrance.

"Oooh, look at that!" Axel said, pointing to a glass display case of knives ranging from little collapsible pocketknives to full on 'you-could-kill-a-bear-with-this-thing' knives.

"You're not getting a knife." Roxas told him.

"Why not?" Axel whined.

"Because they're sharp and dangerous." Roxas replied.

"Fine." Axel pouted, and Roxas wondered why the heck he was even listening. Technically he could get a knife if he really wanted – all he'd have to do would be show the store worker his ID, fork over the cash, and the knife of his choosing would be his.

"What about these then?" Roxas looked to where the redhead was pointing, only to see rows upon rows of fancy, engraved lighters. Some looked like they would barely suffice for lighting a cigarette, but others looked like Smokey the Bear certainly wouldn't be wanting them in his forest anytime soon.

"Are you kidding me?" Roxas answered. "That's even worse than the knives, at least in _your_ hands."

"_Fine_." Axel sighed, looking around for something else to waste his money on. Roxas rolled his eyes, watching out the window as Sora laughingly pulled Riku into a hug as the silver haired teen handed over the snowcone that he had bought. Dear God, if Roxas ever got himself into a relationship that was that disgustingly clingy he was going to have to order someone to drag him out into the street and shoot him to put him out of the miser–

"ROXAS!"

The blonde jolted, turning away from the window to look back at Axel, who had just shouted his name quite loudly; most of the store's occupants turning to stare at them. "What?" he hissed, embarrassed by the attention Axel always seemed to draw to himself in public.

"I know what we're going to buy!" Axel happily informed him, grabbing Roxas's arm and dragging him to the back of the store.

"We?" Roxas skeptically replied, grudgingly allowing himself to be manhandled by the redhead.

"Yes, we." Axel grinned, shoving Roxas forward and moving behind him to wrap his arms around the blonde's waist as Roxas took in what it was that Axel wanted them to buy.

"Oh no!" the blonde said, not even able to believe what he was looking at. "No… no, Axel there is no way in _hell_ that I'm letting you talk me into this. I'm leaving. Right now. No, Axel, cut it out, put that down! Axel, are you listening to me? I don't want that, put it back! Axel!? AXEL!!"

**.x.X.x.**

Roxas was mortified. No, Roxas was _beyond_ mortified. He was embarrassed, offended, and above all else, _humiliated. _And what was the reason behind these unpleasant adjectives?

Axel had bought them _matching t-shirts_.

And not just any t-shirts, but t-shirts with 'MAGIC LAKE' emblazoned in big, bold lettering on the fronts. Axel had bought the most annoying colour combination possible – a hot pink shirt with neon green writing – but Roxas had outrightly refused, wanting to salvage at least a _little_ of his dignity, and had settled for a simple black shirt with red lettering. Roxas was currently trying to walk as far away from Axel as possible without being _completely_ obvious in his attempt to make it appear as though he wasn't actually walking with Axel, but just coincidentally heading in the same general direction. Or something.

"Why are you so far away?" Axel suddenly asked, glancing at the three or four feet inbetween them.

"Uh… I'm not." Roxas replied. Maybe if he just outrightly denied the obvious truth Axel would be stupid enough to go with it.

"Yes you are."

Damn.

"Fine then." Roxas grumbled, figuring he might as well admit to it. "It's because I refuse to look like I'm hanging out with an idiot wearing a shirt like _that_."

"Hey, this shirt is cool!" Axel defended, grabbing Roxas's arm and dragging the blonde over to him, so that only about half a foot separated them. Damn, damn, damn, damn, _damn!_ Now it was _obvious_ that Roxas knew Axel. Great. Just great. At least there was no one here that they knew or anything. That would be just downright –

"Axel!"

…humiliating.

"Demyx!" Axel replied, slapping his hand hard on the smaller male's back as Demyx rushed up and enveloped him into a hug. "And Zexion! What are you guys doing here? I thought you guys were going on some sort of hike today?"

"Yeah, well…" Demyx answered, looking down and drawing squiggles and lines in the dirt with his shoe. "Marluxia wanted to go do some girly nature hike or something, and Larxene went along with him, I think, or maybe not, I don't really remember. Me and Zexion are just hanging out today."

"Ooh, I seeee…" Axel replied, a smirk gracing his features. "Hey check it out, Roxas," he said, turning to the blonde at his side and elbowing him. "Demyx/Zexion." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Axel." Demyx retorted with a grin. Behind him, Zexion was looking rather smug. Roxas's mind reeled – was _everyone _he hung out with pairing up? "Besides, if I remember correctly aren't you the one who won't shut up about a certain blonde tentmate?"

Roxas furrowed his brows and look at Axel curiously. Axel talked about him when he hung out with his other friends? Roxas had been under the impression that Axel had simply ditched him to hang out with other people who were more fun, and who could put up with him for longer periods of time. But if that was the case why would he waste his time talking about Roxas? What was there to talk about anyways? _'Yeah, I know this one blonde kid, and he hates my guts because I annoy him every second of every waking hour, and sometimes into the night'_? Somehow, Roxas wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, well, you're just jealous." Axel said, sticking his tongue out and grabbing onto Roxas, pulling him close and wrapping his arms around the blonde's torso. Roxas squirmed, not wanting to be shown off like some new toy or something.

"Ew, Axel, get off me." Roxas demanded, pushing at the redhead's arms in attempt to slip away. Axel let him go, but not without looking a little hurt. Roxas's stomach tightened uncomfortably at this, but he ignored it. What was Axel playing at, anyways, trying to be all cuddly and stuff all day?

"Yeah wow, Ax, he really seems to like you a _lot_." Demyx laughed, and Axel blushed a little, grinning in an embarrassed manner.

_'What the hell?'_ Roxas wondered. _'Since when does he care whether or not I let him grope me in public?'_

"Yeah well…whatever, you guys." Axel replied, seeming to have lost some of his usual cool. Turning back to Roxas he grinned hopefully. "Hey Roxie, you wanna go meet back up with Sora and Riku?"

_'Oh, yeah, right, cause that's on the top of my list of things I want to do. Go hang out with Mr. Perfect and Hyper McCuddlepants.' _Roxas thought. Why was Axel asking him this, it was almost like he wanted to ditch his other friends to hang out with Roxas and Sora and Riku. And what was with the cutsey nicknames? _Roxie? _Roxas was pretty sure he'd told Axel to not use them.

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh… no." Roxas replied, drawing out the first word in an effort to stall and try to think of a nice way to phrase his refusal, but was unable to come up with one. What did it matter, anyways? This was Axel he was talking to, if he was anything _other_ than blunt, it was as though the fiery haired teen never seemed to catch on. "I'm just going to head back to camp or something. Go hang out with your friends."

"But Roxas –"

"No really, Axel, it's fine. I'll see you later." And with that Roxas turned on his heels of his oversized, velcro-fastened shoes, and left.

**.x.X.x.**

Roxas had been sitting on a rock looking out at the lake for the past hour, lost in thought, and had yet to figure out why Axel had been acting the way he had all morning, and, more importantly, how he felt about it. Sure, Axel had been annoying and clingy – even more than usual – but for some reason it felt was different than his usual 'I'm-going-to-do-whatever-I-can-to-annoy-Roxas!' personality. It was almost like he had meant it or something. Like the very first night when Axel had told Roxas that he liked his voice, and Roxas hadn't known weather to thank him or hit him. It was hard to tell when Axel was being serious or not.

Roxas supposed it might all have had something to do with last night. As much as the blonde wanted to deny what had happened, and that he had willingly initiated it and allowed it to continue, he realized that doing so was useless. All there was to do now was to think back to it and try and make some sense of it.

So… he had kissed Axel. Purely out of the desire to get the idiot redhead to shut up, but the fact was he had done it, no matter what the motives. And Axel had kissed back. Quite willingly, actually. More than willingly. Certainly more willingly than Roxas, and he had been the one who started it. What did that mean? Why was Axel so eager to kiss Roxas?

Roxas pondered this for a few more minutes, idly chucking rocks into the lake to disturb the otherwise calm and peaceful surface, when suddenly it hit him.

Oh God… he was the thickest idiot ever to exist in all of obliviousdom.

Axel liked him.

Axel _liked_ him.

Not just in that 'let's-see-what-happens-if-I-hit-on-this-kid' kind of way, but in the 'I'm-gonna-put-the-moves-on-this-kid-in-an-attempt-to-make-him-mine' kind of way. Granted, Axel's methods were… unorthodox to say the least, but now that Roxas thought back on it they were so _obvious_. He should have been able to see this coming from a mile away. But of course he hadn't, being so wrapped up in being annoyed with Axel's existence the way he had been.

Which of course led to a very tricky crossroads. Now that he realized Axel liked him (as well as realizing the fact that he must have been the dumbest, most oblivious kid _ever_ to have not noticed sooner), what was he supposed to do about it? Axel obviously felt like he had been given the go-ahead after last night's little kissapalooza, but Roxas hadn't even realized what message he'd been sending at the time. Not that there were too many messages that a desperate kiss could send, but whatever.

Great. Just great. Now Axel thought Roxas liked him too.

Roxas thought back to the first time he had seen Axel, and how his immediate impression had been one of annoyance. How on earth could he like Axel back, after everything they had been through together? Just because he had kissed Axel didn't mean he forgave him for all the bickering and embarrassment, for getting them lost, for bugging him into talking to him, and for trying to make friends, and for secretly amusing him even though Roxas would never admit it, and for saving him from freezing to death, and for dragging him off to do things that Roxas didn't really want to do, but kind of ended up having fun doing anyways, and for… for…

Shit.

Maybe Axel wasn't so bad after all.

**.x.X.x.**

That night Axel didn't come home until late again, after everyone was already settling down for the evening, and Roxas in his tent trying to get to sleep. Sora had gotten all teary-eyed watching the sun set beyond the trees across the lake, lamenting that this was going to be their last night all together on his special birthday trip to his favourite place in the world. Roxas had been about to make a sarcastic remark, but had shut his mouth at the last second, not wanting to face Sora's tears and Riku's wrath.

Besides, he was starting to understand why Sora liked it here so much.

Roxas had skipped out on staying up late with Sora and Riku, who were still sitting out by the fire and talking quietly as Sora roasted about five thousand marshmallows. Apparently he was determined to single-handedly finish off every last marshmallow that they had brought for the trip and not yet consumed. When Roxas had checked the food bins while making dinner there had been at least three good sized bags left.

Turning over in his sleeping bag and sighing, he barely heard the door flap zip open, and only became consciously aware of someone else's presence in his tent when the blankets lifted and someone crawled under them a few feet away from him.

"Axel?" he whispered, wondering why he felt the need to keep his voice down. The only reply he got was a vague 'hnnf' as Axel settled in, facing away from Roxas.

"Axel?" Roxas tried again, scooting closer and shaking the older male's shoulder. "Hey Axel, where were you?"

"With my 'other friends'." Came the slightly resentful sounding response, and Roxas withdrew his hand from Axel's shoulder.

"Oh… uh… that sounds like fun."

"Yeah, I guess." Axel replied, still not turning over to face Roxas as he talked to him. "Except for the fact that they already had their day all planned out and those plans hadn't been made to include a third person."

Roxas recoiled at the blatantly bitter tone Axel was using. So far he has seen Axel hyper, and insane, and happy, and embarrassed, and bored, and even scared, but this was completely new. Roxas didn't quite know how to handle it.

"Uh… oh." Roxas replied, suddenly feeling bad. Wasn't being the third wheel something that had just ruined _his_ whole day a few days ago? "Um… that's too bad."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Axel grumbled, pulling the shared blankets more securely around him.

"ARE YOU GUYS AWAKE?" Sora's voice suddenly called out, sounding like he was really hoping the answer was yes. "Do you guys want to come out and roast shmellows with me and Riku?"

"No, Sora!" Roxas called back, sighing as he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Here it was again. The complete reversal of roles that had only occurred once or twice before in the time Roxas had Axel had been around eachother. Roxas didn't quite know what to do – he wasn't very good at dealing with this end of the stick. He was used to be the sullen, resentful one not wanting to be bothered, not the one trying to do the bothering.

"Uh… I, uh, I'm sorry to hear that." The blonde tried in response to Axel's previous statement. "I know how it feels to get left out and –"

"So then why did you ditch me?" Axel cut in, rolling over to face Roxas, not looking happy. "If you didn't want me trying to hang out with you, you could have just said something and I would have laid off. I mean, I get it now – you don't like me, you probably even hate me – but you didn't have to ditch me and leave me to crash Demyx and Zexion's 'date day' or whatever."

Roxas winced as Axel huffily turned back over. Well shit, guys. He'd just turned around and done the exact same thing to Axel as Axel had done to him. Here he was just figuring out that maybe – just maybe – he liked Axel, and this is how he expresses it?

What. A. Jerk.

"Hey guys, I can still hear you talking, are you sure you don't wanna come out and do shmellos?" Sora called out again, sounding like his mouth was half-full of the gooey treats.

"No!" Roxas shouted back _again_, groaning in frustration as he turned his attention back to Axel, lowering his voice so Sora and Riku wouldn't overhear.

"Look, Axel, I really am sorry."

"Yeah, whatever, forget it."

"No, really I…" Roxas sighed. He had never been very good at explaining himself, and it seemed as though Axel was resigned to the fact that Roxas hated him. Heck, up until a few hours ago Roxas might have been fine with that. But right now all he wanted to do was take back all the 'I-hate-you,-you-annoying-freak-go-jump-off-a-cliff-and-leave-me-the-hell-alone' stuff from before and make things okay between him and the idiot redhead.

"Axel… Axel?" No response. Roxas growled and flopped on his back, pressing the heels of his palms over his eyes and trying to think of something to do. Suddenly a thought struck him… it was an idiotic, far-fetched kind of an idea that would most likely result in him making a complete and utter fool of himself, but maybe that was just the kind of thing that it would take to get through to Axel.

"Um…" Roxas started, not quite sure to go about this. "Uh…" He gathered up the sheets around him (and as a result tugging off most of Axel's sheets as well, seeing as they were still sharing bedding) and cocooned himself into them, taking a deep breath before rolling towards Axel.

"BURRIT – OW!"

As luck would have it, at the exact moment Roxas went to put his desperate plan in action and burrito his way back into Axel's good favour, said redhead rolled over to figure out why Roxas had suddenly turned into a blanket-hog. The final outcome was a mid-way collision that resulted in the two males's skulls to go forcefully klonking into eachother.

"Owww…" Axel groaned, rolling back over and rubbing his sore head. Roxas did the same, massaging a forming bump that was throbbing like none other. "What the hell was that?" Axel continued. "Were you trying to be funny or sexy or what? Because just so you know, you failed at both."

Roxas could do nothing more than gape back apologetically, wondering just how much more could go wrong with tonight, this stupid camping trip, and his life in general. They simply stared at eachother for a minute more before Axel suddenly burst out laughing. Roxas was a bit taken aback and continued to wordlessly open and shut his mouth, before Axel suddenly reached forward and grabbed Roxas, pulling him forward and into a tight hug.

"Were you really _that_ desperate to make me forgive you?"

"Yes." Roxas muttered in embarrassment, burying his head in the hollow of Axel's neck.

"Well in that case you're forgiven." Axel assured him, laughing as he ran a hand through Roxas's hair. "If you're willing to make that much of an idiot out of yourself for me, I guess I really don't have a choice." Roxas grumbled something that came out completely muffled, and Axel pushed the blonde's head up, looking at him questioningly. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said… I don't hate you." Roxas repeated, refusing to look Axel in the eye. Axel just smiled for a minute, and Roxas began to get worried that he was going to be made fun of.

"Hey Roxas, guess what?"

"…what?"

"I don't hate you either."

Roxas turned his face back to look straight at Axel, but no sooner than he had refocused his gaze he was being pulled impossibly closer, Axel's lips meeting his halfway as one of the taller male's hands slipped around to the back of his neck to hold him steady.

Roxas suddenly felt extremely lightheaded. Making a pathetic little sound in the back of his throat he lifted his arms to wrap them around Axel's bare back, pulling their chests together as he parted his lips, a silent request that Axel take things further. Axel was, of course, more than happy to comply with this request, and quickly slipped his tongue into Roxas's awaiting mouth, sighing contentedly. Not that Roxas would ever admit it, but the faint expression mirrored what he was feeling as well – completely and utterly satisfied with the way things had finally turned out.

Axel had just managed to maneuver himself on top of Roxas when the blonde reluctantly pulled away, ears strained. He couldn't be sure, but he had been pretty sure he had heard something out of place.

"What now?" Axel murmured, lips barely ghosting over Roxas's own with each word.

"Nothing." Roxas softly replied, shivering a bit at the feeling. "I just thought I heard something."

"Hmm…" Axel hummed in contentment as he leaned back in, only able to apply the faintest bit of pressure before Roxas abruptly jerked away. "Roxas, what –"

The ominous thundering of feet approaching the tent at a full-out run finally reached his ears, and as the two struggled to disentangle themselves from eachother, the zipper of the tent was violently pulled open and in the next second Sora was diving in, yelling at the top of his lungs as he crash landed right smack dap on top of them.

"SHMELLOOOOOOS!"

**.o.O.o.**

Hello again my lovelies! Let me first and foremost apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I try to get a new one out every week and a half or so, and I missed my deadline by a couple days, I think. Or maybe no one even noticed? Maybe I'm just crazy and making things up? Oh well. Anyways, the reason for the lateness is because my laptoppy just decided to crash for no reason, so this has been a very trying week for me, computer wise. Just to get this posted I have had to hack back onto my old, decrepit, barely-runs-at-all computer, access this chapter via an old email that I had sent it out in, and re-beta it all by myself while I should have been getting ready for school. And why did I go to all this trouble, you ask? For YOU, so I hope you like it. Yes, that's right, you. No, not you – _you._

Yeah, okay, shutting up now. XD


	13. Home Again, Home Again

**Final Author's Note: (BEWARE RAMBLING!)** Oh. My. GOD, you guys. Last chapter. I honestly never thought I would get to this point. I just started this silly little story for fun, just intending for it to be something to share with a few close friends, and then… WOW. Just wow. I decided to share it with all you guys here on ffnet, and I am absolutely BLOWN AWAY with the response I got to it. I have the best reviewers in the world. Seriously. I tried to respond to each and every one of you, because your reviews make my day, my week, my life. I like… got to _know_ you guys. Heck, I was even _proposed to_ once or twice. XD You have no idea how special you made me feel. I wanna give you all bright, shiny rainbows, and then you can follow them to the end and find a pot of hugs, cookies, and puppies. X3

So yeah. Thank you so much to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who read this story, and THANK YOU TIMES ONE MILLION BAJILLION to everyone who reviewed. I broke a hundred reviews, and got over a couple THOUSAND hits on this. I _never_ thought that would happen.

Anyways, I'll shut up now. I hope everyone likes the chapter, have a nice day, and **I LOVE YOU.**

**.o.O.o.**

I own nothing! Please don't sue me!

For additional warnings, disclaimers, and summary, see the first chapter!

**.x.X.x.**

Suggested food: hotdogs, sandwiches, and an ABBA-ZABBA

Suggested beverage: tea?

Suggested listening: "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" – Jesse McCartney and Anne Hathaway

**.o.O.o.**

**Where the Hell is Magic Lake?**

**Chapter 13: Home Again, Home Again…**

-o-

The next day dawned as bright and early as any other, but this particular morning was laced with an edge of acute sadness. It was so tangible in the air one could almost hear it…

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

…literally.

Roxas jerked awake at the sudden sob coming from outside, and as he groggily rubbed his eyes, any questions he might have had regarding what prompted the outcry were answered.

"I DON'T WANNA LEEEEEEEEEEEAVE!" Sora sobbed, and Roxas heard a faint 'thump', leading him to assume that the brunette had just thrown himself to the ground.

"Sora!" Riku could be heard whispering, although it was a rather loud whisper, seeing as he had to make himself heard over Sora's wailing. "Sora, calm down, you're going to wake everyone up!"

_'Too late for that.'_ Roxas though to himself, burying his head back into his… not pillow. Apparently Axel had served as Roxas's head support last night, as evidenced by the fact that Roxas was laying half on top of him, his head having nowhere else to rest, even if he had objected to the idea.

After last night's 'shmello' fiasco, Roxas had promptly attempted to kick Sora out of the tent, only to fail drastically and eventually get dragged out of bed and over to the campfire in nothing but his boxers. The four friends had stayed up late into the night, talking and roasting whatever marshmallows were left before eventually heading back to bed. Axel had immediately pulled Roxas over to him, content to simply sleep – for once – but not without the blonde in his arms. It had been nice, though, Roxas admitted, and sleep had claimed him easily that night, apart from the few times Axel had attempted to grope him in his sleep. Honestly, most people just talked in their sleep, or at the very extreme sleepwalked or something… but oh no, Roxas had to get stuck with the one person who sleep _gropes_.

"Nnn…wa'sgoingon?" Axel mumbled, rolling onto his side and burying his face in Roxas's hair to block out all the light streaming into the tent. "Why's Sora yelling?"

"Sora _always_ yells." Roxas reminded him. "He doesn't need a reason."

"Oh… right." Axel responded, never extremely coherent or functional this early in the morning. Heaving a sigh, Axel rolled Roxas underneath him, snuggling back down into the smaller male.

"Hey, Axel, no, get off." Roxas said, pushing at the redhead. "We've gotta get up."

"No…" Axel refused, wrapping his arms around the blonde. Roxas blushed. He wasn't used to this much physical contact, and it was taking all the willpower he possessed to not snap at Axel.

"Axel, come on, get off."

"Hmmn, whatever you say." Axel lazily smirked, pressing specific areas of his anatomy against the lithe body trapped beneath his own.

"GAH!" Roxas shouted, finally resorting to simply shoving Axel – hard – before scooting away and clutching the blankets to himself in defense. "God, do you _have_ to be such a pervert all the time?"

"Yes." Axel grinned, finally setting up and stretching. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Just hurry up and get dressed, if we take too much longer Sora's going to –"

"YOU GUUUUUUUUUYS!" Sora sobbed, flinging open the door flap and flopping down inbetween Axel and Roxas.

"SORA!" Roxas snapped. "You don't just burst into other people's rooms!"

"But you guuuuuuuys…" Sora repeated, still wailing. "It's todaaaaaaay…"

"Sorry about that." Riku popped in, sticking his head into the tent and attempting to drag Sora out. "He's a little upset that we're leaving." The silver haired teen explained.

"Oh yeah?" Roxas sarcastically replied. "We hadn't noticed."

After Sora had been properly calmed down, everyone set about the business of packing up camp. First the backpacks were re-packed, followed by the dismantling of the tents (Roxas and Axel had a little trouble with theirs, given the badly twisted poles. Much fighting and name calling ensued, and it was a miracle they actually managed to get the tent back in its proper packaging without messing it up anymore than they already had.) and the disassembling of the collapsible stove and lanterns, not to mention the deflation of the infamous rainbow raft.

"So…" Riku began after everything seemed to be put away, overlooking the area with his hands on his hips. "Are we all done here?"

"We have to leave the campsite better than we found it!" Sora insisted, reciting one of the most important rules for going out into the wilderness.

"Sora, no one ever comes here, even if we did mess something up no one would know." Roxas pointed out.

"It doesn't matter." The brunette shot back. "We have to leave it looking perfect." Everyone looked around, giving the camping area one last once-over. It seemed as though everything was in order, and besides a few charred rocks that had served as a makeshift fire pit, the area looked none the worse for the wear.

"Sooo…" Axel started, seeming to strike upon a thought. "How are we getting back to the car? Hiking again?"

Sudden panic gripped Roxas, and he instantly found his mind lurching into a throwback to the torturous creek misadventure. No… No way was he hiking back to the Hundred Acres camp grounds with these guys, he would hitchhike with a passing pinecone if he had to – he was _not_ going anywhere near that creek.

"No, that would take too long, as fun as it would be." Sora told them. Roxas snorted at Sora's use of the word 'fun.' "We're going to have to go into town and take one of the little shuttlebuses."

Oh. Okay. That was fine with Roxas. Anything but the creek.

Actually getting to town took much longer than it should have, because Sora seemed to deem it necessary to personally say goodbye to every single tree, rock, and drop of water in the lake before they could even _think_ about leaving. Sobbing once again as Riku pried him off of a pine, Sora eventually allowed the trek into town to start, walking backwards nearly the entire way in order to get 'once last glance at his favourite place in the world.' Roxas didn't have the heart to tell him that the lake was long gone by the time they turned the first bend in the trail. Let the kid keep walking backwards if that was what made him happy.

And, not that Roxas was _ever_ going to admit it, but… his heart felt a little heavy at leaving the place behind, as well.

**.x.X.x.**

By the time everyone got back into town it was after noon and no one had eaten lunch yet. Deciding to split up for a fifteen minute lunch break, Sora tugged Riku off in the direction of the hotdog stand, but Roxas (deciding he'd rather not deal with the pissy, silver haired hot dog vendor) headed off in the opposite direction towards a sandwich place he had noticed the other day.

"Hey Roxas, wait up!"

Roxas turned to see Axel running up to him, slightly surprised to see the redhead following after him instead of everyone else.

"What are you doing?" Roxas questioned with a raised eyebrow as Axel caught up to him. "I'd have thought you'd be trying to wrangle a thousand hot dogs out of the pissy hot dog vendor guy."

"Nah, I'd rather hang out with you." Axel replied with a happy grin. "Food is food. Hey…I don't remember the hotdog guy being pissy." He added the last part on as an afterthought.

"Yeah, well that's cause you didn't have to deal with him trying to make you pay for fifteen hotdogs that you didn't even order in the first place." Roxas grumbled.

"Hey!" Axel indignantly shot back. "I only asked for ten hotdogs, thank you very much! Are you calling me fat?'

Shaking his head as he entered the little sandwich shop, Roxas decided not to answer.

"Okay, I know, I'll pay for your food right now, how about that?" Axel offered.

"Fine, whatever." Roxas answered, briefly scanning the menu before placing his order. "Yeah, hi, could I have twenty five –"

"What!? Roxas!"

**.x.X.x.**

The trolleyshuttle ride back to the Hundred Acres campgrounds was uneventful except for the fact that Axel kept trying to get Roxas to sit on his lap, which the blonde outrightly refused to do. The two caused a bit of a scene, most of the other passengers turning around in their seats to shoot them dirty looks. Sora had also taken to plastering himself to the window and making pathetic little whimpering noises, obviously not wanting to leave. Riku patted him consolingly on the back. Eventually, however, everything settled down and the ride only took about a half an hour to get them back to their destination.

"So wait…" Roxas slowly began upon exiting the tram. "Are you telling me that we could have just taken a thirty minute bus ride from the camp to begin with, and it would have saved me _two and a half __**days**_ in the creek with _this_" Roxas jerked a thumb in the general direction of Axel. "blabbering idiot?!"

"Hey!" Axel protested.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sora replied, grinning at Roxas. "But that wouldn't have been as much –"

"Fun." The blonde finished, massaging his temples in an effort to sooth his throbbing mind.

"Exactly!" Sora affirmed, before spotting the car and taking off into a run. "CAAAAAR!" he happily called out. "Did you miss us? Just wait until you hear about all the fun stuff we did!"

Roxas turned to Riku, an unamused expression on his face. "Is he really going to tell the car about –"

"Yes." Riku cut in, shaking his head. "Yes he is."

Sure enough, by the time Roxas, Riku, and Axel joined Sora over at the car, the brunette was babbling on about all the things they had done, as if the car just couldn't wait to hear about it. ("…and then there was this one time when we were trying to set up the tents and this squirrel threw a pine cone at me…") Years… er… nearly a week of fine tuning with Axel had taught Roxas how to block out unwanted jabbering, and as soon as Riku had unlocked the trunk he dumped his stuff in before going around and getting in himself and heading for his designated seat in the back and looking forward to a nice, relaxing trip home…

"Hey Roxas!" Axel suddenly cut in, clambering over the car seat in a most awkward manner. "Let's play a car game!

After playing a few rounds of half-hearted 'I spy' with Axel, Roxas was relieved when the redhead finally diverted his attention to Sora instead. However his relief was short lived, because not a minute later a rousing chorus of '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall' had been started. Roxas groaned, burying his face in his hands. Usually people gave up by the time they hit around sixty bottles of beer on the wall, but Roxas was sure that if there were _any _two people capable of getting through all ninety-nine bottles, he was stuck in a car with both of them.

**.x.X.x.**

"Hey Roxas… Roxas…"

"What?" Roxas ground out bitterly, having been fast asleep until someone had taken to shaking him and trying to talk to him. Opening his eyes to find himself looking at none other than Axel – surprise! But not really – Roxas immediately groaned, turning back over and leaning against the armrest for support as he attempted to go back to sleep.

"No, Roxas, really, come on, wake up!"

"God, what do you _want_?" Roxas growled, refusing to turn back.

"Roxas, we're at a truck stop and getting out of the car. Come on."

"Why?" Roxas questioned grumpily, nonetheless unbuckling his seatbelt and angrily throwing open the side door. Gosh darn it, he may have decided he didn't hate Axel after all, but the guy was still damn annoying!

"Because." Axel supplied, pulling Roxas off to a little area set up with a food shack. Roxas used the term 'shack' because it was a cruddy little building looking like it was just waiting to fall apart after decades of catering to road-weary individuals, looking for a quick place to stop and regain a little energy and fresh air. Sora could be seen running around in the distance, getting out some of his pent up energy chasing after birds as Riku watched from a nearby bench. "Riku wanted a break from driving and Sora was getting really fidgety." Axel finished explaining.

"Fine, whatever." Roxas sighed as Axel drug him into the food shack.

Grabbing a candy bar, Axel headed towards the cash register when Roxas struck upon a thought – he really had to pee. Waiting for Axel to finish paying for the snack, Roxas stepped up to the counter, asking the haggard looking… woman? man?… behind the counter where the restrooms were.

"Righ' ovah there, hunny." The …person… replied, gesturing with a grubby hand to an area behind the snack shack. "Bu' yer gonna need a key, here ya go."

A grungy and dented key attached to a length of PVC pipe was handed over the counter, and Roxas took it with a wary "thanks". What on earth was the purpose of the attached pipe? To discourage people from stealing the key? Who would want to steal a truck stop restroom key in the first place? Whatever. Roxas headed out back to the restrooms, and was greeted with one of the most disgusting sights he had ever seen in his life. Never before had he laid eyes on such a filthy, utterly revolting men's restroom. The floor tiles were so covered with grime that the original colour was indiscernible; suspicious stains and writing covered the walls. And Roxas didn't even want to start _thinking_ about that smell…

"Whoooooie!" Axel whistled appreciatively, having followed after him. "You really have to pee that bad, Roxie?" Roxas thought about this for a minute before deciding.

"Yes." He said, making up his mind. "But I'm going in the girl's bathroom." This proved to be a wise choice, because, although still disgusting and causing Axel to tease him mercilessly, at least in there he didn't fear for his very life. Death by bathroom slime was not the way he wanted to snuff it.

A few minutes later everyone was piling back into the car, a little more refreshed, and a little more disgusted with the male species in general. Sora immediately went into DJ mode again, slipping a CD into the slot and blasting the volume.

"DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART!"

"I COULDN'T IF I TRIED!"

"OH, HONEY IF I GET RESTLESS…"

"BABY, YOU'RE NOT THAT KIND!"

"Uuuuuurgh… not again." Roxas groaned, slumping down in his seat. Thankfully it seemed as though Axel would not be joining in the singing this time around, however, as the redhead contented himself with ripping the wrapper off of his Abba-Zabba he had bought back at the food shack and thrusting the thing into his mouth. Roxas watched as Axel sucked on it, getting the taffy nice and malleable before gripping it with his teeth, pulling back and letting long strings of the white goo get stretched out, barely connecting Axel's mouth and the rest of the stick…

Gulp.

Averting his gaze in an effort to hide his blush, Roxas let his mind drift to watching the countryside whoosh by outside the window for a minute or two before he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder. Turning to face Axel (who else would be tapping him?), Roxas jerked his head back as the redhead shoved the candy stick at him, a smirk on his features.

"You want some?"

"No!" Roxas shot back. "That thing's got your spit all over it."

Axel shrugged, not loosing the smirk. "Suit yourself. I was just offering."

"Yeah, well, I don't want it." Roxas grumbled, crossing his arms and going back to looking out the window.

A few hours later found Sora asleep in the front seat (despite the fact that he was right next to the speakers which were still cranked up to full volume), and Axel passed out on the _back_ seat, using Roxas as a pillow. The half eaten candy stick was held loosely in his hand, about ready to fall as he shifted against Roxas in an effort to get more comfortable. Sighing, the blonde picked the treat out of Axel's hand, setting it aside so that it wouldn't fall on the floor and get dirty. Granted, Axel probably would have still eaten it anyways, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Axel shifted again, nuzzling his face into Roxas's chest. Quickly looking up into the rearview mirror to assure himself that Riku couldn't see what was going on in the back seat, Roxas allowed the cuddling to continue, even going to far as to lift a hand and place it gently among the red spikes sticking up all over Axel's head.

Looking down at the sleeping redhead, Roxas's stomach gave an uncomfortable twist. Soon they would be home again and everything would settle back to normal… and Roxas wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that. Sure, it would mean indoor plumbing and electricity and all the other wonders of civilization… but Roxas was worried that the events that transpired over this chaotic trip would be swept away, fading out until the whole thing was just some distant memory. And Roxas didn't want that. Axel might have been one of the most annoying, frustrating, and downright intolerable people he had ever met, but Roxas kind of wanted him to stick around. This is what always happened though, right? The infamous summer fling. Boy meets girl (or in this case, boy), boy falls for (or in this case annoying the living hell out of) girl, boy and girl (boy) spend an amazing and carefree summer running around together having fun… and then it ends. Just like that it's over and everything goes back to the way it was before, except it can't… not really. Something's different than before, and it leaves a gaping void in someone's heart. Roxas didn't want that to happen. But really, he didn't see how it could be avoided.

Riku suddenly turned down the music, most likely thinking everyone was asleep and wanting to spare his eardrums. Roxas suddenly found the impossible happening – he wanted that annoying music back. Call him sentimental, but he wanted to cling to that insufferable boy band music as a last reminder of the past week and a half, reminding him with it's shocking annoyance that it was all real, that the camping trip from hell really had happened.

Roxas didn't want it to be over.

**.x.X.x.**

"FIVE MILES!"

Roxas jolted awake, immediately aware of the fact that his neck was bent at a very odd angle. Oh well, that's what he got for falling asleep on the armrest. Looking up at the front, it seemed as though Sora was wide awake again as well, and loud as ever.

"I just saw the sign, Riku!" He announced, fidgeting in his seat. "Only five miles to our exit and we'll be home!"

Roxas's stomach plummeted. So soon? Sora seemed to have gotten over the loss of leaving Magic Lake behind, but all of a sudden Roxas was overcome with the urge to demand Riku to turn the car around _right now_ and take them straight back. Five miles… five miles until he was officially home, and this whole dreadfully, chaotically memorable trip would be over for good. Glancing down at Axel who was still sprawled across him, Roxas sighed, gently petting down the wild mass of red spikes.

_'Well I guess this is it, then…' _Roxas thought. _'Axel will finally be out of my hair. I finally got what I've been wanting for the past week… So why am I not happy?' _Of course Roxas really did know why, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit it, even in his thoughts. Okay fine, so maybe he had a little crush on Axel, whatever. Big deal, he'd get over it, right?

Except… if it was only a silly little crush, then why did his heart hurt so badly?

A sudden jolt of the car signaled the exiting of their offramp, finally putting them back on the little streets that would take them back home. Great. Cool. Roxas would go take a shower and coop himself up in his room and listen to not-boy-band music.

…God, why didn't that seem as appealing as it should?

Jerking up as Riku went a little too fast over a speed bump, Axel nearly klonked his head against Roxas's as he sat up.

"Where are we?"

"Almost home." Riku informed him, not taking his eyes off the road. Sora, however, twisted fully around in his seat, sending the two occupants on the back seat a blinding grin.

"We'll drop you off first, okay Roxas?" the brunette said, more of a statement than a question. "Your house is closest, and we can help you unload your stuff, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Roxas mumbled in reply, turning to press his face against the cool glass of the window.

"Why so glum, chum?" Axel asked, biffing Roxas lightly in the shoulder.

"It's nothing, forget it." The blonde snapped back in reply, deciding that if he wasn't going to allow himself to get all teary and emotional, he was gonna let himself get irritable, damnit.

"No really, what's up Roxie? I'd have thought you'd be happy to get away from annoying ol' me and the great outdoors."

Roxas's stomach clenched. _'So he really doesn't care. Fine, if he's gonna be that way, I'm not going to care either.'_

"Yeah, Axel, you're right." Roxas replied, although he couldn't bring himself to face the redhead as he said the words. "I'm glad it's over."

Out of the corner of his eye, Roxas saw Sora shoot him a sad face but decided to ignore it until the brunette offered some words of comfort. "Come on, Roxas. it wasn't that bad. And I mean… wouldn't you like to do it again next year?"

"Yeah, sure, that'd be cool." Roxas replied, even though his heart wasn't in it. By next year everything would be different. By then he and Axel would have lost whatever weird understanding they had come to, whatever possibility they had maybe had at working things out and being together. By next year it'd be too late.

"We're here." Riku suddenly announced, and Roxas didn't think he'd ever been so unhappy to pull up to his own house. Somehow he managed to drag himself out of the car after everyone else had piled out, and walked around the back to where Sora was yanking Roxas's stuff out, dumping it on his lawn. Roxas would have yelled at him for being so careless with his stuff if he could have worked up enough energy to care.

"Is that about it?" Sora asked, beaming at him as he looked for conformation. Roxas did a quick inventory of the bags scattered across the yard and nodded.

"Yeah, that's about it."

"Okay then!" Sora chirped, jumping forward and grabbing Roxas into a sudden, tight hug. "Thank you so much for coming, Roxas! It really meant a lot to me! I hope you had fun! I mean, despite getting lost in the creek and everything."

"Yeah." Roxas answered, and he even was able to make himself smile a little for Sora. After all, if it wasn't for Sora he'd never have had the worst best week of his life. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for inviting me."

"Yup!" Sora giggled before scampering back off to the shotgun seat, fiddling with the stereo and most likely putting in another pop-tastic CD to torture the remaining party guests with one last time before everyone else was dropped off.

Riku was the next to step up, offering out his hand in an annoyingly masculine fashion that Roxas himself could never pull off without looking like he was trying too hard. Damn.

"It was cool having you along." The silver haired teen said, tugging Roxas forward as the blonde gripped his hand, pulling him into a man hug. "We should hang out again sometime."

"Yeah, sure, cool." Roxas vaguely responded as Riku gave him a parting thump on the back before heading off to the driver's seat and waiting for everyone else to get back in the car so they could go.

Everyone being Axel.

The fiery haired teen took a step towards Roxas, standing a foot or so away and rocking back and forth on his feet. "Sooo…" He started. "It was cool meeting you. I, uh, hope I didn't annoy you too much."

"Don't worry, you did." Roxas replied with a shaky laugh that he didn't really mean to slip out.

"Heh heh… well… sorry." Axel said, grinning sheepishly as he brought one arm up to scratch at the back of his head uncomfortably. "So… I guess maybe I'll see you around?"

"Yeah…" Roxas distantly replied, casting his gaze downwards. _'Do something, do something, DO SOMETHING!'_ his brain screamed. "Maybe…"

"Okay… so…bye…" Axel said, taking a backwards step towards the van.

"Axel wait!" Roxas said, snapping his head up and giving Axel a pleading look.

_Don't go, stay here, I want you to stay, I want you here with me, pleasedon'tleaveIloveyou…_

"Yeah?" Axel was totally serious now, looking at him and Roxas just knew he was just _waiting_ for him to say it, to stop him from getting back in that

"I… I, um… yeah. Bye, Axel."

Axel's expression faltered just the tiniest bit, and he gave Roxas a small smile and a halfhearted little wave as he headed back to the car. "Bye Roxas…"

And with the slamming of a door, he was gone. Riku turned the key and the engine started up, backing the van up to pull away from the curb, before shifting forward and starting off down the street.

Roxas couldn't watch. Quickly grabbing his bags he ran for his front door, shoving his hand into his pockets and shakily fishing out his keys, fumbling as he tried to jam them into the door. "Come on… come on, damnit, just go in…" A prickling feeling was starting to sting at the corners of Roxas's eyes and he wanted in his house, to run up into his room and slam the door and not come out ever again.

_Honk, honk!_

Turning around, surprised to see the van pulling to a stop not half a block away, the side door getting thrown open as Axel threw himself out, tripping over his own feet in his haste and falling onto his face on the sidewalk. Roxas could do little more than stare as the redhead rushed up to his doorstep, panting and out of breath, and then suddenly Roxas air was knocked out of his lungs as he was being shoved back against his door, the stupid keys falling to the ground in his shock as Axel desperately pressed himself up against Roxas, kissing him for all he was worth. Just as abruptly, Axel pulled away and quickly shoved a crumpled piece of paper in the blonde's hand, as though if he didn't just do it _right now_ he might loose his nerve.

"Don't you dare think you're getting rid of me that easy." Axel whispered with a lopsided smirk, placing one last kiss to Roxas's still parted lips before running back to the car, slamming the door closed behind him

This time Roxas watched the van drive off down the street, not looking away until it had turned the corner and was out of sight. Not quite sure what had just happened, but noticing that some of the heavy weight that had settled in the pit of his stomach had lifted, Roxas shakily unclenched his hand, uncrumpled the piece of paper, smoothed it out, and read the hastily scrawled message that had been written on it.

…

_555 – 0813. Got it memorized?_

_Call me sometime._

_Love,_

_Axel._

**.o.O.o.**

The end!

(…but not quite! Look around on my author page and you just might find a sequel!)


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